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BELSHAZZAR: 



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U Bramattc 39oem. 



BY THE REV. H. h/mILMAN, 

FROrBSSOR OF POETRY IN THX (JNIVBRSITY Of OXF0Il>. 



.-t^^V 



i i-; •-> 8 






BOSTON : 

IV ELLS AND LILLY— COURT-STREET. 

1822. 



jfntroifttttton* 



Though, in the following Poem, I have 
adhered strictly to the outline in Scripture, 
I have availed myself of whatever appear- 
ed to my purpose in the profane histori- 
ans. My general authorities, where I do 
not follow the Book of Daniel, are Hero- 
dotus and Diodorous Siculus; but, perhaps, 
the best English account of Babylon is to 
be found in Prideaux's Connection of the 
Old and New Testament. 

The publication of the Martyr of Antioch 
was considerably delayed by unforeseen cir- 
cumstances. I take the liberty of mention- 
ing this for two reasons. In the first place, 
because a coincidence in several circumstan- 
ces between that Poem and the Novel of 
Valerius, has led to a charge of plagiarism ; 
when, in fact, the Poem was written, and 



IT INTRODUCTION. 

had been seen by some of my friends, be- 
fore the publication of the prose work. 
Secondly, I am unwilling that my Poems 
should appear to follow each other with a 
haste and rapidity inconsistent with that de- 
ference for public opinion, which the man- 
ner of their reception would rather increase 
than diminish. 

May 1 presume to hope that this, as well 
as the preceding works of the same nature, 
may tend to the advancement of those in- 
terests, in subservience to which alone our 
time and talents can be worthily employed 
—those of piety and religion ? 



BELSHAZZAR. 



©natactrrsf. 



Tht Destroying Angel. 

Belshazzar. 

Arioch, Captain of the Guard. 
Saearis, Chief Eunuch. 
KALA8SAN, High Priest of BeU 



;l, ^ 

JAH, ) 



Daniel, 

IMLAH, > Jey}S. 

Adonijah, 



NiTocRis, Mother of Belshaszar, 

Naomi. 

Benina. 

Bahyloniin JVobles — Priests — Diviners — Astrologers f See. 

Scene—Babylon. 



M$ii^%}un^v^ 



The City of Babylon — Morniug. 

THE DESTROYING ANGEL. 

Within the cloud-pavilion of my rest, 
Amid the Thrones and Princedoms, that await 
Their hour of ministration to the Lord, 
I heard the s- mmons, and I stood with wings 
Outspread for flight, before the Eternal < hrone. 
And from the unapproached depth of hght 
Wherein the Almighty Father of the worlds 
Dwells, from seraphic sight by glory veil'd, 
Came forth the soundless mandate, which I felt 
Within, and sprung upon my obedient plumes. 
But as I saiPd my long and trackless voyage 
Down the deep bosom of unbounded space, 
The manifest bearer of Almighty wrath, 
I saw the angel of each separate star 
Folding his wings in terror, o'er his orb 
Of golden fire j and shuddering till I pass'd 
To pour elsewhere Jehovah's cup of vengeance. 
1 



8 BELSHAZZAR. 

And now I stand upon this world of man, 
My wonted resting place. — But thou, oh EartU ! 
Thou only dost endure my fatal presence 
Undaunted. As of old, I hover o'er 
This haughty city of Chaldean Bel, 
That not the less pours forth her festal pomp 
To do unholy worship to her Gods, 
That are not Gods, but works of mortal hands. 

Behold ! the Sun hath burst the Eastern gates, 
And all his splendour floods the tower'd walls, 
Upon whose wide immeasurable circuit 
The harnessed chariots crowd in long array. 
Down every stately line of pillar'd street. 
To each of the hundred brazen gates, young men 
And flower crown'd maidens, lead the mazy 

dance. 
Here the vast Palace, whence yon airy gardens 
Spread round, and to the morning airs hang forth 
Their golden fruits and dewy opening flowers ; 
While still the low mists creep, in lazy folds, 
O'er the house-tops beneath. In every court, 
Through every portal, throng, in servile haste. 
Captains and Nobles. There, before the Tem- 
ple, 
On the far side of wide Euphrates' stream. 
The Priests of Bel their impious rites prepare : 
And cymbal clang, and glittering dulcimer, 



BELSHAZZAR. 9 

With shrill melodious salutation, hail 

The welcome morn, awakening all the City 

To the last dawn that e'er shall gladden her. 

Babylon ! Babylon ! that wak'st in pride 
And glory, but shalt sleep in shapeless ruin, 
Thus, with my broad and overshadowing uings, 
I do embrace thee for mine own; forbidding, 
Even at this instant, yon bright orient Sun, 
To shed his splendours on thy lofty streets. 
Oh, Desolation's sacred place, as now 
Thou'rt darken'd, shall the darkness of the dead 
Enwrap thee in its eveilastmg shade ! 

Babylon ! Babylon! upon the wreck 
Of that most impious tower your Fathers rear'd 
To scale the crystal battlements of fieaven, 
1 set my foot, here take my gloomy rest 
Even till that hour be come, that comes full soon. 

Before the Temple. 

Kalassan — The PiaESTS. 

FIRST PRIEST. 

Didst thou behold it ? 

SECOND PRIEST. 

What? 

FIRST PRIEST. 

'Tis gone, 'tis past — 
And yet but now 'twas there, a cloudy darkness, 



10 BELSHAZZAR. 

That, swallowing up the rays of the orient Sun, 
Cast back a terrible nighl o'er all the City. 

THIRD PRIEST. 

Who stands aghast at this triumphant hour ? 
I tell thee that our Dreamers have beholden 
Majestic visions. The besieging Mede 
Was cast, with all his chariots, steeds, and men, 
Into Euphrates' bosom. 

KALASSAN. 

Do ye marvel 
But now that it was dark ? yon orient Sun, 
The Lord of Light, withdrew his dawning 

beams. 
Till he could see the glory of the world, 
Belshazzar, in his gilded galley riding 
Across Euphrates. 

FIRST PRIEST. 

Give command that all 
The brazen gates along the river side. 
Stand open to receive the suppliant train. 

SECOND PRIEST. 

Hark ! with the trumpet sound their strong re- 
coil 
Upon their grating hinges harshly mingles. 

THIRD PRIEST. 

Lo ! how the bridge is groaning with the gifts 
Of the great Kmg. The camels bow their 
heads 



BELSHAZZAR. 11 

Beneath the bright and odorous load they bear ; 
The proud steeds toss their flower-enwoven 

manes, 
And the cars rattle with their ponderous sound ; 
While, silent, the slow elephants pursue 
Their wondering way, and bear their crowded 

towers, 
Widely reflected on the argent stream. 

FOURTH PRIEST, 

How proudly do the waters toss and foam 
Before the barges, that with gilded prows 
Set the pale spray on fire ! The rowers, clad 
In Egypt's finest tunics, as they strike 
The waters with their palmy oars, awake 
Sweet music, as it seems, from all the tide ; 
So exquisitely to th© dashing strokes 
Are the sweet lutes and floating hautboys timed. 

FIRST PRIEST. 

Yon bark, in which, at times, the silken curtains 
Are by the courteous breezes fann'd aside. 
Is that in which the Mother of the mightiest, 
Nitocris, sits. Her presence seems to awe 
At once, and give a pride to those who row 
Her queenly state 

KALASSAN. 

Behind — 'tis he ! — 'tis he 1 — 
Belshazzar's self— the waters crowd around. 
As though ambitious to reflect their Sovereign ; 



12 BFXSHAZZAR. 

And all the throng'd and living shores, that now 
To the far limits of the City, pass'd 
His name in one long shout, have paused to hear 
Our loftier homage. Are the Seventy here ? 

FIRST PRIEST. 

All. 

KALASSAN. 

Lift we, then, the solemn strain, in praise 
Of the great King, and all the suppliant court 
Will answer us in praise of mightiest Bel. 

SONG OF THE PRIESTS. 

Where are the thousand throned kings, 
Beneath whose empires' spacious wings, 
The wide earth lay in mute repose ? 
He rose — Chaldea's King arose ! 
And bow'd was every crowned head, 
And every marshall'd army fled ; 
Before his footstool bow'd they down, 
The all conquering Lord of Babylon ! 

SONG OF THE SUPPLIANTS, 

Where are the thousand shrined Gods, 
Within whose temples' proud abodes 
The nations crowded to invoke ? 
He woke, Chaldea's God awoke ! 
And mutt- was every sumptuous feast, 
And rite, and song, and victim ceased ; 



BELSHAZZAR. 13 

And every Fane was overthrown, 
Before the God of Babylon ! 

PRIESTS. 

Amnion's crested pride lay low, 
And broke was Elarn's horned bow ; 
Damascus heard the ponderous fall 
Of old Benhadad's palace wall; 
The ocean redden'd with the fire 
From the rock-built strengths of Tyre. 
False was fierce Philistia's trust. 
Desert Moab mourn? in dust. 
Lo ! in chains our Captains bring 
Haughty Zion's eyeless King. 
Kedar's tents are struck, her bands 
Scattered o'er her burning sands, 
And Egypt's Pharaoh quails before 
The Assyrian Lion's conquering roar. 

THE SUPPLIANTS. 

From his high Philistine fane, 
Sea-born Dagon fled amain ; 
Moloch, he whose vali<^y stood 
Deep with infant's blameless blood : 
Chemos, struck with pale affright, 
Left his foul unfinish'd rite. 
Her waning moon Astarte veil'd, 
When the Tyrian's sea-wall fail'd. 
2 



14 BELSHAZZAR. 

In vain Damascus' children meet 
At lofty Rimmon's molten feet. 
And vain were Judah's prayers to him, 
Between the golden Cherubim ; 
In vain the Arab, in his flight, 
Call'd on the glittering stars of night ; 
And vain Osiris' timbrels blew 
Over Egypt's maddening crew. 

KALASSAN. 

Lord of the world, and of the eternal city, 
That wear's Chaldea's regal diadem [here 

Wreath'd with Assyria's, wherefore art thou 
Before the Temple of all-powerful Bel 1 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Chief of the Seventy chosen Priests, that serve 
Within the Temple of our God, thou know'st 
That the rebellious Mede, confederate 
With Ashkenaz and Elam, and the might 
Of Persia, hath begirt with insolent siege 
Our city walls, and I would know what swift 
And terrible vengeance is ordain'd on high 
For the revolted from Chaldea's sway? 

KALASSAN. 

Live thou, oh King, for ever ! We are holding 
This day our solemn rite. Our Priests and Seers 
Each at his office stands throughout the Temple ; 
And all our eight ascending towers that rise, 



BELSHAZZAR. 16 

Each above each, in heavenward range, are 

throng'd 
With those that strike the cjrmbal, and with voice 
And mystic music summon down the Gods 
To give us answer. 

BELSHAZZAR, 

Priests of Bel, and thou 
High mitred Chief, Kalassan ! Lo, I bring 
Gifts worthy of the Gods and of Belshazzar: 
All that the world in its vast homage casts 
Before our royal feet ; the gold that flows 
In the red waters of the farthest East; 
The fragrant balm that weeps from glittering 

trees; 
The ivory, and the thin and snowy robes 
Of Egypt ; and the purple merchandize 
Of Sidon; and the skins of beasts that far 
In the dark forests fly the sight of man, 
Yet not so far but that Assyria's servants 
Track them, and rend away their bloody tribute ; 
And slaves of every hue, and every age. 
From all the kingdoms of our rule. 

KALASSAN. 

Great King, 
What answer wouldst thou, which such sump- 
tuous offerings 
May not compel I 



IS BELSHAZZAR. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Declare ye to our Gods, 
Thus saith Belshazzar: whorefore i^m 1 call'd 
The King of Babylon, the scepter'd heir 
Of (') Nabonassar''s sway, if still my sight 
Must be infested by rebellious arms, 
That hem my city round ; and frantic cries 
Of onset, and the braying din of battle 
Disturb my sweet and wonted festal songs ? 

WITOCRIS. 

In the Gods' name, and in mine own, I answer! 
When Nabonassar^s heir shall take the sword 
Of Nabonassar m his vaii nt hand; 
"With the inborn awe of majesty appal 
Into the dust Reheirion"'s crested front : 
When for the gliding bark on the smooth waters, 
Whose motion doth but lull his silken couch, 
He mounts the rushing chariot, and in arms 
Asserts himself the lord of human kind. 

SABARIS. 

Will he endure it ? 

NITOCRIS. 

Oh, my son ! my son ! 
Must I repent me of that thrill of joy 
f felt, when round my couch the slaves proclaim'^ 
I had brought forth a man into the world, 
A child for empire born, the cradled Lord 
Of Nations — oh, my son !— and all the prida 



BELSHAZZAR. 17 

With which T saw thy fair and open brow 
Expand in beauteous haughtiness, commanding 
Ere thou could'st speak ? And with thy growth, 

thy greatness 
Still ripen'd : hke the palm amid the grove 
Thou stood'st, the loftiest, at once, and comeliest 
Of all the sons of men. And must 1 now 
Wish all my pangs upon a shapeless oflfspring, 
Or on a soft and dainty maiden wasted, 
That might have been, if not herself, like her 
Thy martial ancestress, Semiramis, 
Mightiest — at least the Mother of the Mighty ? 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Queen of Assyria, Nabonassar's daughter ! 
W^ife of my royal father, Merodach ! 
Greater than all, from whom myself was born ! 
The Gods that made thee mother of Belshazzar, 
Have arm'd thee with adangerous licence. Thou, 
Secure, may'st utter what from meaner lips 
Had call'd upon the head the indignant sword 
Of Justice. But to thee we deign reply. 
Is't not the charge of the great Gods t' uphold 
The splendour of the world that doth them 

homage ? 
As soon would they permit the all-glorious Sun 
To wither from their palace vault in heaven, 
As this rich empire from the earth. 

2 * 



18 BELSHAZZAR. 

tflTOCRIS. 

And therefore 
Be as the Gods, Belshazzar, and stand forth 
To sweep away the desolating foe ! 
As when the thunders scatter all abroad 
The lowering clouds at midnight, all the stars 
Look glittering through the bright pellucid sky, 
And in the glorious calmthemselves havestrew'd, 
Repose triumphant the great Gods. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Oh, queen ! 
The mother of Chaldea's royal lord 
Ne'er ask'd in vain. Myself this day will mount 
The car of battle, and along the walls 
Display my terrors, for Assyria's hosts 
To kindle into valour at my presence; 
And the pale rebels from their distant camp, 
Like hunters that have roused the sleeping lion, 
Snatch up their toils, and fly 

NITOCRIS. 

Along the walls ! 
And not along the dusty battle plain? 
Yet 'tis enough — the fire but sleeps within thee. 
And as the warhorse that hath sported long 
On the green meads, beholds the flash of arms 
Brighton the fountain where he bathes, and hear* 
The martial trumpet soundmg, start erect 



BELSHAZZAR. 19 

His kindling ears, his agitated mane 
Trembles ; already on his back he feels 
The gorgeous trappings and the armed rider, 
And treads the sward as though he trampled down 
Whole hosts before him ; thus Belshazzar's soul, 
At sight of Babylon's exulting foes, 
Shall waken to the warrior's noble wrath. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Give instant order ! 

NITOCRIS. 

Oh, tiara'd Mede ! 
And thou fierce Persian that dost boast thyself 
As hardy as thy native mountains ! Thou, 
The shepherd's nursling, Cyrus ! feel ye not 
A prescient terror of your coming conqueror? 
The towers with which ye have girt your spa- 
cious camp. 
Do they not rock even to their deep foundations, 
In conscious awe ? But thou, my noble son ! 
Thy mother's heart,that beat but in thy presence, 
Even when thou laid'st in soft inglorious dalliance, 
When home thou com'st, high plumed with vic- 
tory, hosts 
In chains around thee, and the routed armies 
Crowding to gaze upon their conqueror, 
As though it were a solace in their fall 
That great Belshazzar stoop'd to overthrow 
them J 



2© BELSHAZZAR. 

When all the mvriaHs of vast Bahylon 
Shout in the triumph of their kingly lord; 
That heart, my son, with such excess ot pride 
Will swell, that it will burst. Even now it fills 
My woman's eyes with tears : when I should 

wear 
A brow all rapture, I can only weep. 

K VLASSAN. 

Lord of the Nations ! with our richest rites 
Do we propitiate the eternal Gods. 
Upon the golden altar, never wet 
Save with the immaculate blood of yearling 

lambs (^) 
We sacrifice — and on our topmost tower, 
Where, on his couch, amid his native clouds, 
The God reposes, must the chosen Virgin, (^) 
Whom to our wandering search he first presents, 
Await the bright descending Deity. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

What then ! — the Gods hold festival to-night ! 
And shall the courts of great Chaldea's palace 
Be silent of the festal song? At eve 
Our banquet shall begin ; and dusky night, 
Astonish'd at our splendour, think his reign 
Usurp''d as by a brighter day. Kalassan ! 
Whence are those golden vessels r.chly carved, 
And bossy with enchased fruits and flowers ; 



BELSHAZZAR. 21 

Goblets, and lavers, and tall chandeliers, 
That, like to blossoming almond trees, branch out 
In knots of'glittermg silver? — meet were they 
To minister at great Belshazzar's feast. 

KALASS^N. 

King of the Universe ! those vessels stood 
Erst m the Temple of the Hebrew's God ; 
But when Chaldea's arms laid waste the City, 
And from their Temple, with destroying fire, 
ScarM the unresisting Deity, the spoils 
Were seiz'd, and consecrate to mightier Bel. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Let them be borne to grace our feast ! 

KALASSAW. 

Most honoured 
Were they by such a noble profanation ! 

Give ye the order 

Ha ! what frantic shriek 
Peals through the courts ? 

PRIEST. 

The slaves that girt themselves 
To bear those vessels, on a sudden, all. 
As though by viewless hght'nings struck to earth 
Lie grovelling on the pavement, and they clench 
Their vacant hands in horror. 

KALASSAN. 

Raise them up, 
And lash them to their duty. 



22 BELSHAZZAR. 

SECOND PRIEST. 

King- of Earth! 
The armed statue of thy ancestor, 
Gr^^at Nabonassar, on its tirm set pedestal 
Shakes, and its marhle panoply resounds 
Like distant thunder ! 

KALASSAN. 

How ! the pavement rocks 
Beneath our feet, like a tempestuous sea ! 

BELS;TAZZAR. 

What ! are Belshnzzar's mandates thus delay'd 
For the pale fears of slaves, and idle sounds 
That shake the earth, but not his kmgly soul ? 
A^vay with them ! we will not brook remonstrance 
From vanquished men or Gods ! — Away ! 1 say— 

CHORUS. 

Sovereiarn of all the streams that flow 

From hills of everlasting" snow, 

'J hrouQ^h vast Chaldea's fertile reigfn, 

Down to the red and pearly (*) main ; 

And ere thy giant course is done, 

Throiiofh all imperial Babylon; 

By stately tovvet>. and palace fair, 

And l))«>oming' gardens hung in air ; 

By every orjowing brazen gate, 

Roliest thy fnll exulting state. 

Proud River! strew thy waves to rest. 



BELSHAZZAR. 23 

And smooth to peace thy azure breast, 
While slowly o'er thy willing tide, 
Belshazzar's gilded galleys ride. 
Hear, King of Floods ! Euphrates, hear ! 
And pay the homage of thy fear. 

CHORUS OF SUPPLIANTS. 

Sovereign of all the lamps that shine 

In yon empyreal arch divine. 

That roU'st through half the fiery day, 

O'er realms that own Chaldea's sway ; 

O'er thrones whose monarchs wear her yoke. 

And cities by her conquests broke ; 

Thou Sun, whose morning splendours dwell 

Upon the Temple towers of Bel, 

The quiver of thy noontide rays 

Exhaust in all their fiery blaze. 

Upon the cloud-aspiring throne 

Where rests the God of Babylon ! 

So shall the God in glory come 

Down to his sumptuous earthly home. 

Hear! Monarch of the Planets ! hear — 

And pause upon thy fleet career. 



24 BELSHAZZAR. 

The Quarter of the Jewish Slaves. 
Imlah, Naomi, Benina. 

BEMNA. 

Father ! dear Father ! said'st thou that our feet 
Shall tread the gUttering paths of Sion's hill; 
And that our lips shall breathe the fragrant airs 
That blow from dewy Hermon, and the fount 
Of Siloe flow in liquid music by us ? 

IMLAH, 

Oh, daughter of captivity, and born 
To eat the bitter bread of servitude, 
Benina, child of sadness ! — yet the dearer 
Because thou art the joy of desolate hearts 
That have no joy but thee ! — what knowest thou 
Of that fair city, where our Fathers dwelt 
While unforsaken by their God ? 

BENINA. 

My father ! 
Have I not seen my mother and thyself 
Sit by the river side, and dwell for ever 
On Salem's glories, and the Temple's pride, 
Till tears have choked your sad though pleasant 
speech ? U^Si 

In the deep nr.idnisfht, when our lords are sleep- 
Pve seen the Brethren from the willows take 



BELSHAZZAR. »& 

Their wind-caressed harps, their half-breath'd 

sounds 
Scarce louder than the rippling rivers dash 
Around the matted sedge ; and still they pour'd 
Their voices down the stream, as though they 

wish'd 
Their songs to pass away to other lands 
Beyond the bounds of their captivity. 
I've listened in an ecstacy of tears, 
Till purer waters seera'd to wander near me, 
And sweeter flowers to bloom beneath my feet, 
And towers of fairer structure to arise 
Under the moonlight ; and 1 felt the joy 
Of freedom in my light and sportive limbs. 

IMLAH. 

My sweetest child, and thou that gav'st to me 
This dearest treasure, Naomi, thyself. 
Even as thou wert in virgin loveliness 
My plighted bride, renewed to tenderest youth ! 
I will not say I hope not (though my fears 
And conscience of our ill desert reprove me) 
That God even now prepares the promised hour, 
When Israel shall shake off Assyria's chains, 
And build long-wasted Sion's lovely walls. 
The sands of the appointed years are run ; 
The signs break out, as in the cloudy night 
The stars ; and buried Prophets' voices seem 
3 



26 BELSHAZZAR. 

As from their graves to cry aloud, and mark 
The hour that labours with our Israel's glory j 
And, more than all, but yesterday I saw 
The holy Daniel 

NAOMI. 

Daniel ! what of him, 
Dear Imlah ? 

IMLAH. 

Till but lately he was girt 
With sackcloth, with the meagre hue of fasting 
On his sunk cheek, and ashes on his head ; 
When, lo ! at once he shook from his gray locks 
The attire of woe, and call'd for wine ; and smce 
He hath gone stately through the wondering 

streets [towers, 

With a sad scorn. Amid the heaven-piercing 
Through cool luxurious courts, and in the shade 
Of summer trees that play o'er crystal fountains, 
He walks, as though he trod o'er moss-grown 

ruins, 
'Mid the deep desolation of a city 
Already by the almighty wrath laid waste. 
And sometimes doth he gaze upon the clouds, 
As though he recognized the viewless forms 
Of arm'd destroyers in the silent skies. 
And it is said, that at the dead of night 
He hath pour'd forth thy burden, Babylon, 
And loud proclaim'd the bowing down of Bel, 



BELSHAZZAR. 27 

The spoiling of" the spoiler. Even our lords, 
As conscious of God's glory gathering round him, 
Look on him with a silent awe, nor dare 
To check his motion, or reprove his speech. 

JVAOMI. 

Oh, Imlah ! shall our buried bones repose 
In our own land ? 

BENINA. 

Speak on, my dearest Father, 
Thy words are like the breezes of the west, 
That breathe of Canaan's honey-tiowing land. 

IMLAH. 

My child ! my child ! thy nuptials shall not be 
With song supprese'd, and dim half curtain'd 

lamp, 
StoVn from the observance of our jealous lords, 
As mine and thy fond mother's were. — Who's 

here ? 

BEN IN A. 

'Tis Adonijah : he hath heard thee name him, 
And he will see the burning on my cheek, 
And so detect our cause of fond discourse. 

IMLAH. 

I named him not 

BENINA. 

Nay, father, now thou mock'st me. 

IMl.AH. 

Alag ! poor deer, thou'rt deeply stricken ! 
Well— 



28 BELSHAZZAR. 

It is a noble boy, that dares to fear 

His God, nor makes his youth a privilege 

For licence, and intemperate scorn of rule. 

The above^ Adonijaii. 

IMLAH. 

Whence com'st thou, Adonijah, with thy brow 
Elate, and full of pride, that scarce beseems 
A captive ? 

ADONIJAH. 

Imlah ! from the dawn of day 
I have been gazing from the walls, and saw 
The Persian reining in his fiery squadrons. 
Like ostriches they swept the sandy plain, 
As though they would outstrip the tardy winds ; 
And paus'd and wheel'd, and through the clouds 

of dust 
That rose around them, as round terrible Angels, 
Their scimitars in silver radiance flash'd. 
Oh, will it ever be, that once again 
The Lord of Hosts will lift the Lion banner 
Of Judah, and her sons go forth to war 
Like Joshua, or like him whose beardless strength 
Overthrew the giant Philistine ! 

BENINA. 

Ah, me ! 
And would'st thou, Adonijah, seek the war, 
The ruthless, murtherous, and destroying war l 



BELSHAZZAR. 29 

ADOMJAH. 

Why, yes ! nor would Benina love me less 
For brin^in^ home the spoil of God^s proud foes, 
To hang withm his vindicated Temple. 

BENINA. 

So thou didst bring thyself unharm'd, unchanged, 
Benina were content. 

ADONIJAH. 

Heaven's blessings on thee I 

IMLAH. 

Hear me, young Adonijah ; thou dost love 
My child : Benina, shall I say, or leave it 
To thine own lips or eloquent eyes to tell, 
How well thou lov''st the noble Adonijah ? 
But, youth, I seek not to delay thy joy 
With the cold envious prudence of old age, 
That never felt the boiling blood of youth ; 
For if I did, there's one would chide me here 
For my forgetfulness of hours like these. 
But yet I would not have my daughter wed 
With the sad dowry of a master's stripes ; 
I would not, Adonijah, on the eve 
Of our deliverance, that the wanton Gentile 
Should pass his jest on our cold entertainment, 
And all the cheerless joy when captives wed, 
To breed a race, whose sole inher tance 
Shall be their parents' tasks and heavy bondage 
3* 



30 BELSHAZZAR. 

Our father Jacob served seven tardy years 
For beauteous Rachel, but I tax not thee 
With such a weary service. 

ADONIJAH. 

Be they ages, 
So the life beat within this bounding heart, 
The love shall never fail ! 

IMLAH. 

Here's one would trust thee, 
Youth, should my cautious age be slow. Come 

hither, 
Thou tender vine, that need'st a noble stem : 
Thou not repin'st because I wed thee not 
To this fair elm, until the gentle airs 
Of our own land, and those delicious dews 
That weep like angels' tears of love, o'er all 
The hill of Sion, gladden your sweet union, 
And make you bear your clustering fruits m joy. 
So now, enough, thou dost accept the terms. 
And in the name of Him that rules on high, 
I thus betroth the noble Adonijah 
To soft Benina. — 

Now, to him that hears 
The captive's prayer. How long — oh. Lord ! — 

how long 
Shall strangers trample down thy beauteous Sion? 
How long shall Judah's hymns arise to thee 



BELSHAZZAR. 31 

On foreign winds, and sad Jerusalem 
On all her hills be desolate and mute ? 

God of the Thunder ! from whose cloudy seat 

The fiery winds of Desolation flow : 
Father of Vengeance ! that with purple feet. 

Like a full wine-press, tread'st the world below. 
The embattled armies wait thy sign to slay, 
Nor springs the beast of havoc on his prey, 
Nor withering Famine walks his blasted way, 

Till thou the guilty land hast sealM for woe. 
God of the Rainbow ! at whose gracious sign 

The billows of the proud their rage suppress: 
Father of Mercies ! at one word of thine 

An Eden blooms in the waste wilderness ! 
And fountains sparkle in the arid sands, 
And timbrels ring in maidens' glancing hands, 
And marble cities crown the laughing lands. 

And pillar'd temples rise thy name to bless. 

O'er Judah's land thy thunders broke — oh, Lord ! 

The chariots rattled o'er her sunken gate. 
Her sons were wasted by the Assyrian sword, 

Even her foes wept to see her fallen state ; 
And henps her ivory palaces became. 
Her Princes wore the captive's garb of shame. 
Her Temple sank amid the smouldering flame, 

For thou didst ride the tempest cloud of tiate. 



32 BFXSHAZZAR. 

O'er JuclRh*s land thy rainbow, Lord, shall beam, 

And the sad City lift her crownless head ; 
And son^s shall wake, and dancing footstept 
gleam. 
Where broods o'er fallen streets the silence 
of the dead. 
The sun shall shine on Salem's gilded towers, 
On Carmel's side our maidens cull the flowers, 
To deck, at blushing eve, their bridal bowers, 
And angel feet the glittering Sion tread. 

Thy vengeance gave us to the stranger's hand, 
And Abraham's children were led forth for 
slaves ; 
With fetter'd steps we left our pleasant land, 

Envying our fathers in their peaceful graves. 

The stranger's bread with bitter tears we steep, 

And when our weary eyes should sink to sleep, 

'Neath the mute midnight we steal forth to weep, 

Where the pale willows shade Euphrates' 

waves. 

The born in sorrow shall bring forth in joy ; 

Thy mercy. Lord, shall lead thy children home; 
He that went forth a tender yearling boy, 

If et, ere he die, to Salem's streets shall come. 
And Canaan's vines for us their fruits shall bear, 
And Hermon's bees their honied stores prepare ; 



BELSHAZZAR. 3S 

And we shall kneel ap^ain in thankful prayer, 
Where, o'er the cherub-seated God, full 
blaz'd the irradiate dome. 



The Walls of Babylon. 

Belshazzar in his Chariot^ Nitocris, Arioch 
Sabaris, ^c. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

For twice three hours our stately cars have roU'd 

Along the broad highway that crowns the walls 

Of mine imperial City, nor complete 

Our circuit by a long and ample space. 

And still our eyes look down on gilded roofs. 

And towers and temples, and the spreading tops 

Of cedar groves, through which the fountains 

gleam ; 
And every where the countless multitudes, 
Like summer insects in the noontide sun, 
Come forth to bask in our irradiate presence. 
Oh, thou vast Babylon ! what mighty hand 
Created thee, and spread thee o'er the plain 
Capacious as a world ; and girt thee round 
With high tower'd walls, and bound thy gates 

with brass ; 



34 BELSHAZZAR. 

And taug-ht the indignant river to endure 
Thy bridg-e of cedar and of palm, high hung 
Upon its marble piers ? — What voice proclaim'd, 
Amid tlie silence of the sands, " Arise ! 
An(\ be earth's wonder ?" Was it not my fathers ? 
Yea, mme entombed ancestors awake, 
Their heads uplift upon their marble pillows ; 
They claim the glory of thy birth. Thou hunter, 
That didst disdain the quarry of the field. 
Choosing thee out a nobler game of man, 
Nimrod ! and thou that with unfeminine hand 
Didst lash the coursers of thy battle-car 
O'er prostrate thrones, and necks of captive kings, 
Semiramis! and thou whose kingly breath 
Was like the desart wind, before its coming 
The people of all earth fell d!>wn. and hid 
Their humble faces in the dust ! that mad'st 
The pastime of a summer day t' overthrow 
A city, or cast down some ancient throne ; 
Whose voice each ocean shore obey'd, and all 
From sable Ethiopia to the sands 
Of the gold-flowing Indian streams ; — oh ! thou 
Lord of the hundred thrones, high Nabonassar ! 
And thou my father, Merodach ! ye crown'd 
This City with her diadem of towers — 
Wherefore ?-but prescient of Belshazzar's birth, 
And conscious of your destin'd son, ye loii'd 



BELSHAZZAR. 35 

To rear a meet abode. Oh, Babylon ! 
Thou hast him now, for whom through ages ros® 
Thy sky-exalted towers— for whom yon palace 
Rear'd its bright domes, and groves of golden 

spires ; 
In whom, secure of immortality 
Thou stand'st, and consecrate from time and ruin, 
Because thou hast been the dwelling of Bel- 

shazzar ! 

NITOCRIS. 

I hear thy words : like thine, thy mother's 

heart 
Swells, oh, my son ! to see thy seat of empire. 
But will the Lord of Babylon endure. 
What in yon plain beneath offends our sight, 
The rebel Persian ? 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Gave we not command, 
To Tartan and to Artamas, to sweep 
Yon tribes away, or ere our car approach'd 
The northern wall ? 

ARIOCH. 

They hasted forth, oh. King ! 
But Tartan came not back, nor Artamas. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Slaves ! did they dare fall off from their alle- 
giance ? 



36 BELSHAZZAK. 

ARIOCH. 

To the dominion they fell off of him 
That hath the empire o'er departed souls. 

WITOCRIS. 

Look down ! look down ! where, proud of his 

light conquest, 
The Persian rides— it is the youthful Cyrus; 
How skilfully he winds through all the ranks 
His steed, in graceful ease, as though he sate 
Upon a firm-set throne, yet every motion 
Obedient to his slack and gentle rein, 
As though one will controlled the steed and rider ; 
Now leaps he down, and holds a brief discourse 
With yon helm'd captain ; like a stooping falcon, 
Now vaults he to the patient courser's back. 
Happy the mother of that noble youth ! 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Now, by great Bel ! thou dost abuse our pa- 
tience. 
Is that the rebel king to whom Belshazzar 
Should vail his pride, and stoop to be his foe ; 
Him with the brazen arms, that, dimly bright, 
Scarce boast distmction from the meaner host ? 
Where are his golden attribute? of power. 
The glorious ensigns of his sovereignty ; 
The jewel'd diadem, the ivory sceptre, 
The satrap circled throne, the kneeling hosts ? — 



BELSHAZZAR. 37 

NITOCRIS. 

Dost ask, my son, his marks of sovereignty ? 
The armies that behold his sign, and trust 
Their fate upon the wisdom of his rule, 
Confident of accustom'd victory ; 
The unconquerable valour, the proud love 
Of danger, and the scorn of silken ease ; 
The partnership in suffering and in want, 
Even with his meanest follower; the disdaia 
Of wealth, that wins the spoil but to bestow it, 
Content with the renown of conquering deedi. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

By all our Gods ! 

SAB4lRIS. 

Great Queen ! it ill beseems 
The lowest ofiChaldea's slaves to oppose 
The mother of our king with insolent speech; 
But my bold zeal for him that rules the world 
Has made me dauntless, is it not heavens will, 
Written in the eternal course of human things, 
Some kings are born to toil, and some to enjoy ; 
Some to build up the palace domes of power, 
That in their glowing shade their sons may sit 
Transcendent in luxurious ease, as they 
In conquest? 'Tis the privilege of the chosen, 
The mark'd of fate, and favourites of the Gods, 

To find submissive earth deck'd out, a fair 
4 



38 BELSHAZZAR. 

And summer garden house, for one long age 
Of toilless pleasure, and luxurious revel. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

The slave speaks well : and thee, oh, queen Ni- 

tocris I 
This eve will we compel, with gracious violence, 
To own our loftier fate. This sacred eve 
We'll have an array wide as yon that spreads 
Its tents on the hot sands ; and they shall feast 
Around me, all reclin'd on ivory couches, 
Strew'd with Sidonian purple, and soft webs 
Of Egypt ; fann'd by bright and glittering plumes 
Held in the snowy hands of virgin slaves; 
And o'er their turban'd heads shall lightly wave 
The silken canopies, that softly tremble 
To gales of liquid odour: all the courts 
Sh^'il breathe likes groves of cassia and of nard. 
And every paradise of golden fruits, 
The forests and the tributary streams. 
In tnis one banquet shall exhaust their stores 
Of delicates ; the swans and Phasian birds, 
And roes and deer from off a thousand hills, 
Serv'd in the spices of the farthest East. 
And we will feast to dulcimers and lutes. 
And hirps and cymbals, and all instruments 
Of rapiurous sound, till it shall seem the stars 
Have stoopd the nearer to our earth, to crown 



BELSHAZZAR. 39 

Our banquet with their heavenly concert. 

There, 
Our captains and our counsellors, our wives 
And bright-e)'''d concubines, through all the 

palace 
Th' array of splendour shall prolong — while I, 
In state supreme, and glory that shall shame 
The setting sun amid his purple clouds. 
Will on my massy couch of gold recline : 
Then shaltthou come, and seeing thy son the orb 
And centre of this radiance, even thyself 
Shalt wonder at thy impious speech, that dared 
To equal aught on earth to great Belshazzar. 
And now, lead on ! — 

The abovCy Benina, Imlah, Adonijah, Priests. 

BENIN.4 . 

Ah, save me ! save me I 

ARIOCH. 

Peace ! 
Before the king ! — 

BELSHAZZAR. 

What frantic maid is this, 
That shrieks and flies, with loose and rending 
garments, [circle her, 

And streaming hair ? — And who are these that 
And sing around her ? 



40 BELSHAZZAR. 

SABARIS. 

Live, oh king, for ever ! 
Chaldea's priests, that seek this evening's bride 
For mightiest Bel. 

PRIESTS. 

Beauteous damsel ! chosen to meet 
First our wandering heaven-led feet. 
Spotless virgin ! thee alone 
The great God of Babylon, 
From his starry seat above, 
Hath beheld with looks of love. 
Bride of him that rules the sky ! 
Cast not down thy weeping eye. 
Daughter of the captive race ! 
For thine high and blissful place, 
In the heaven hung chamber laid. 
Many a Babylonian maid 
To the voiceless midnight air, 
Murmurs low her bashful prayer. 
With enamour'd homage see. 
Round and round we circle thee ; 
Round and round each dancing foot 
Glitters to the breathing lute. 

SABARIS. 

Why dost thou struggle thus, fond slave ? 

BEjyiNA. 

My father !— 
My dearest Adonijah ! speak to him — 



BELSHAZZAR. 41 

The panting" breath swells in my throat, my 
Can find no utterance, save to thee. [words 

IMLAH. 

Great king ! 
They rend away my child, mine only child ! — 

BELSHAZZA.R. 

Peace ! she is borne to serve the God of Baby- 
lon : 
And ye should fall, and kiss their garment hems, 
And bless them for the glory that awaits 
The captive maiden 

ADONIJAH. 

Glory ! call ye it, 
To be the lustful prey 

BE NINA. 

Sweet youth ! no more. 
Oh, speak not ! — by the love thou bearest me— 
By all our hopes — alas ! what hopes have we ? — 
Let me endure no sufferings but my own. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Priests, to your office ! — 

BEJVINA. 

Oh ! no mercy — none — 
Not even in thee, that wear'st a woman's form, 
But all the cold relentless pride of man — 
Mightiest of queens ! — would I might add most 
gracious — 

IMLAH. 

God of our fathers ! that alone canst save, 

4* 



42 BELSHAZZAR. 

Look down upon this guileless innocent. 
Lo ! pale and fainting, like a wounded fawn 
She hangs upon their arms — death scarce could 

throw 
A sadder paleness, or more icy torpor. 
Over that form, whose loveliness is now 
Its bane, and stamps it for the worst of misery. 

ADONIJAH, 

Oh, for a Median scimitar ! 

ARIOCH. 

What said he? 

BENINA. 

Nought — nought— 

ARIOCH. 

The slave forgets that scourges hang 
Upon our wails — 

IBILAH. 

And we had fondly thought 
The bitter dregs of our captivity [hear me — 
Drank out ! Farewell, my child ! thou dost not 
Thou liest in cold and enviable senselessness, 
And we might almost fear, or hope, that death-* 
Compassionate death — had freed thee from their 
What now, my child ? [violence. 

APONIJAH, 

Oh, beautiful Benina ! 
Why do thy timorous dove-like eyes awake, 
And glow with scorn ? why dost thou shake away 



BELSHAZZ4R. 43 

The swoon of bashful fear, and stand erect, 
Thou, that didst hang, but now, like a loose 

woodbine, 
Trailing its beauteous clusters in the dust ? 

BENIJVA. 

Give place, and let me speak unto my father, 

And to this youth. 

Fierce men ! your care is vain — 
I will not stoop to fly. 

IMLAH. 

My soul is lost 
In wonder ; yet I touch thee once again, 
And that is rapture. 

BENIJVA. 

Did ye not behold him 
Upon the terrace top ? — the Man of God ! 
The anointed Prophet ! 

IMLAH. 

Daniel ! 

BENIJVA. 

He whose lips 
Burn with the fire from heaven ! 1 saw him, 

father : 
Alone he stood, and in his proud compassion 
Look'd down upon this pomp that blaz'd be- 
neath him, 
As one that sees a stately funeral 

IMLAH. 

He spoke not ? — 



44 BELSHAZZAR. 

EENINA. 

No : — like words articulate, 
His looks addressed my soul, and said — oh, maid, 
Be of good cheer — and, like a robe of light, 
A rapture fell upon me, and I caught 
Contagious scorn of earthly power ; and fear 
And bashful shame are gone, and in the might 
Of God, of Abraham's God, our father's God, 
I stand, superior to the insulting heathen. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

What! wait ye still to lead the Gods their slave. 
And thus delay Belshazzar's course ? 

BENIJVA. 

Your Gods ! 
Whom I disdain to honour with my dread. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Off with her ! and advance our royal car : — 
Set forward. — 

[Belshazzar departs with his train. 

BENINA. 

Ye shall need no force to drag me. 
My father ! — Adonijah ! — gaze not thus, 
Blaspheming, with your timorous doubts, the arm 
Of the Most High, that waves above mine head 

In silent might unseen I 

And thou — go on, 
Go on thy stately course — Imperial Lord 
Of golden Babylon! the scourge that lash'd 



BELSHAZZAR. 45 

The Nations, from whose mantling cup of pride 
Earth drank, and with the fierce intoxication 
Scoff M at the enduring heavens. 

Go on, in awe 
And splendour, radiant as the morning star, 
But as the morning star to be cast down 
Into the deep of deeps. Long, long the Lord 
Hath bade his Prophets cry to all the world, 
That Babylon shall cease ! Their words of fire 
Flash round my soul, and lighten up the depths 
Of dim futurity ! I hear the voice 
Of the expecting grave ! — I hear abroad 
The exultation of unfettered earth ! — 
From East to West they lift their trampled necks, 
Th' indignant nations : earth breaks out in scorn ; 
The valleys dance and sing; the mountains shake 
Their cedar-crowned tops ! The strangers crowd 
To gaze upon the howling wilderness. 
Where stood the Q,ueen of Nations. Lo ! even 

now. 
Lazy Euphrates rolls his sullen waves 
Through wastes, and but reflects his own thick 

reeds. 
I hear the bitterns shriek, the dragons cry ; 
I see the shadow of the midnight owl 
Gliding where now are laughter-echoing palacesi 
O'er the vast plain I see the mighty tombs 



46 BELSHAZZAR. 

Of kings, in sad and broken whiteness gleam 
Beneath the o'ergrown cypress — but no tomb 
Bears record, Babylon, of thy last lord; 
Even monuments are silent of Belshazzar! 

PRIEST. 

Still must we hear it ? — 

BENIJTA. 

Yea, ye must ! — the words 
Of God will find a voice in every wmd; 
The stones will speak, the marble walls cry out ! 

PRIEST. 

Maid, in Bel's appointed bride 

We must brook the words of pride j 

Mortal voice may ne'er reprove 

Whom the bright immortals love ; 

Nor hand of mortal violate 

Her, the chosen immortal's mate. 

BENINA. 

Oh, Adonijah ! soothe my mother's tears ; 
Be to my father what 1 should have been ; 
And now farewell ! Forget not her whose 

thoughts. 
In terror and in rapture, still will dwell 
On thee : in prayer, at morn and eve, forget not 
Her who will need prayers worthier than her 

own. 



BELSHAZZAR. 47 

Before the House of Imlah. 

IMLAH, ADONIJAH. 
IMLAH. 

We are here at length : — we two have glided on 
Like voiceless ghosts along the crowded streets. 
The miserable pour their tale of anguish 
Into the happy ear, and feel sweet solace 
From his compassion ; but the wretched find 
No comfort from imparting mutual bitterness. 
1 know 1 ought to feel that God protects 
My child— 1 can but think that heathen arms 
Have torn her from my bleeding heart ! I know 
I ought to kindle with the heavenly fire 
Of her rapt spirit, to dauntlessness like hers. 
I can but tremble for her tender loveliness, 
That us'd to cling to me for its support, 
Like a soft lily, for the world's rude airs 
Too frail. 

ADONIJAH. 

Scarce dare 1 speak, lest I speak rashly, 
I have rebuked and struggled with my sorrow, 
Till I detected in my secret heart 
A proud reproach, that I was born a son 
Of Abraham, to be trampled in the dust 



48 BELSHAZZAR. 

Like a base worm, that dare not turn to sting 
The insulting foot. 

IMLAH. 

Oh cool decline of day, 
That wert the captive's hour of joy, his tasks 
FulfiiPd, his master's wayward pride worn out, 
How wert thou wont to lead my weary foot 
To such a blissful home, — IVe oft forgot 
It was a captive's. Naomi, my wife, 
I never fear'd to meet thy loving looks 
Till now. 

The above, Naomi. 

NAOMI, 

So, Tmlah, thou'rt returned : — and thou, 
My son, I'll call thee. — Sweet it is t' anticipate, 
And make the fond tongue thus familiar 
With words that it so oft must use. Stay, stay, 
Beloved ! and I'll call forth, or ere ye enter, 
My child, whose welcome will be sweeter to you 
Than the cold babbling of her aged mother: — 
1 had forgot — she went abroad with you. 

IMLAH. 

Have mercy, Heaven ! 

NAOMI. 

Now, whither is she gone? 
To seek for thee the cup of sparkling water 



BELSHAZZAR. 49 

With which she used to lave thy burning brow ; 
Or gather thee the rosy fruit, that gainM 
Fresh sweetness to thy taste, from that dear hand 
That offer'd it. She ever thought — though weary 
Herself and wanting food — of ministering 
First to the ease and joy of those she lov'd. — 
Ha ! tears upon thy brow, thy noble brow, 
Which I have seen endure 

IMLAH. 

Go in ! — no, stay 
Without ! I cannot venture where some mark 
Of her fond duty and officious care. 
Will be the first thing mine eyes see. — My wife, 
Why dost thou tear thine hair, and clasp thy 

brain ? 
I have not told thee 

NAOMI. 

What hast thou to tell me ? 
Thou'rt here without her : — thou and this brave 

youth 
Have eyes that burst with tears. She's lost !^- 

she's dead I 

IMLAH. 

Would that she were ! 

NAOMI. 

Unnatural father ! wretch-, 
That hast no touch of human pity in thee. 
To tell a mother thou canst wish her child 
5 



50 BELSHAZZAR. 

Where her fond arms can never fold her more ! — 
Oh, Imlah ! Imlah ! tell me — tell me all — 
Ye cannot tell me more than what 1 fear. 

IMLAH. 

They tore her from us, for a paramour 
For their false Gods 

NAOMI. 

'Tis ever thus : — most bless'd 
But to be made most wretched ! 

IMLAH. 

Pardon her, 
Oh Lord ! oh, we can chide on others' lips. 
What our own burn to utter ! 

NAOMI. 

All my care, 
My jealous, vigilant, and restless care. 
To veil her from the eyes of man, to keep her 
Like a sweet violet, that the airs of heaven 
Scarcely detect in its secluded shade, 
All waste and vain ! I was so proud, to think 
1 had conceal'd our treasure from the knowledge 
Of our rude masters — and I thought how envied 
I should return among our barren mothers, 
To Salem. 

IMLAH, 

Dearest ! she beheld — she felt 
The arm of Israel's God protecting her. 



BELSHAZZAR. 51 

Thou canst not think with what a beauteous 

scorn 
Our soft and timorous child o'erawed the spoiler- 
How nobly she reproved our fears. 

NAOMI. 

Poor fool ! 
To be deluded by those tender arts 
She ever used — her only arts — to spare 
Our bleeding hearts from knowing when she 

suffered. 
What! she look'd fearless, did she? She in the 

arms 
Of sinful men, that trembled at heaven's airs, 
When they came breathing o'er her blushing 

cheek. 
And ye — thou, Adonijah, that dost know 
Her timorous nature, wert deceiv'd ? — cold 

comfort ! 
Have ye no better? 

IMLAH. 

Oh, weep ! weep, my wife ! 
Look not upon me with those stony eyes ! 
Oh, think — the cup is bitter, but the Lord 
May change it ; — think of him that lost so many, 
His sons and daughters, at their jocund feast. 
All at one blow — and said — *God gave, and God 

* Job i. 21. 



52 BELSHAZZAR. 

Hath taken away. 

NAOMI. 

Had he but one, like ours ; 
One that engross'd his undivided love ; 
One such as ne'er before blest human heart, 
"Would he have said so ? 

Wilt not tell me, too, 
How Sarah in her old age bore a child, 
To be a joy within her desolate house. 
Go on — go on — recount each act of love, 
Each merciful miracle, that we may know 
How gracious God hath been to all — but us. 

IMLAH. 

Hear her not, God of Israel ! — oh, my son ! 
"We must distract this phrensy, or 'twill blight 
Heaven's hop'd for blessings to a barren curse, 
And intercept some soft descending mercy. 
What shall we do ? — what say ? — to dissipate 
Her brooding thoughts ? We'll take the harps 

that hang 
Around us, and are us'd to feel the hand 
Of sorrow trembling on their mournful strings. 
When ye demand sweet Sion's songs to mock 

them. 
Proud strangers, our right hands forget their 

cunning. 
]But ye revenge you, wringing from our hearts 



BELSHAZZAR. 53 

Sounds that might melt ^our senseless stones to 
pity. 

HYMN. 

Oh, thou that wilt not break the bruised reed, 
Nor heap fresh ashes on the mourner's brow, 

Nor rend anew the wounds that inly bleed, 
The only balm of our afflictions thou. 

Teach us to bear thy chastening wrath, oh God ! 

To kiss with quivering lips — still humbly kiss thy 
rod! 

We bless thee. Lord, though far from Judah's 
land ; [and chains ; 

Though our worn hmbs are black with stripes 
Though for stern foes we till the burning sand ; 
And reap, for others' joy, the summer plains ; 
We bless thee, Lord, for thou art gracious still. 
Even though this last black drop o'erilow our 
cup of ill ! 

We bless thee for our lost, our beauteous child ; 
The tears, less bitter, she hath made us weep ; 
The weary hours her graceful sports have 

'guiled, [sleep ! 

And the dull cares her voice hath sung to 
She was the dove of hope to our lorn ark j 
5 * 



54 BELSHAZZAR. 

The only star that made the strangers' sky less 
dark! 

Our dove is fall'n into the spoiler's net ; 
Rude hands defile her plumes, so chastely 
white ; 
To the bereaved their one soft star is set, 
And all above is sullen, cheerless night .' 
But still we thank thee for our transient bliss- 
Yet, Lord, to scourge our sins remain'd no way 
but this? 

As when our Father to Mount Moriah led 
The blessing's heir, his age's hope and joy, 

Pleased, as he roam'd along with dancing tread, 
Chid his slow sire, the fond, officious boy, 

And laugh'd in sport to see the yellow fire 

Climb up the turf-built shrine, his destined fu^ 
neral pyre — 

Even thus our joyous child went lightly on ; 

Bashfully sportive, timorously gay. 
Her white foot bounded from the pavement stone 
Like some light bird from off the quiv'ring 
spray ; [glee. 

And back she glanced, and smiled, in blameless 
The cars, and helms, and spears, and mystic 
dance to see. 



BELSHAZZAR. 55 

By thee, oh Lord, the gracious voice was sent 
That bade the Sire his murtherous task fore- 
go : 

When to his home the child of Abraham went 
His mother's tears had scarce begun to flow. 

Alas ! and lurks there, in the thicket's shade, 

The victim to replace our lost, devoted maid ? 

Lord, even through thee to hope were now too 
bold; 

Yet 'twere to doubt thy mercy to despair. 
'Tis anguish, yet 'tis comfort, faint and cold, 

To think how sad we are, how blest we were ! 
To speak of her is wretchedness, and yet 
It were a grief more deep and bitterer to forget ! 

Oh Lord our God ! why was she e'er our own ? 

Why is she not our own — our treasure still ? 
We could have pass'd our heavy years alone. 

Alas ! is this to bow us to thy will ? 
Ah, even our humblest prayers we make repine, 
Nor, prostrate thus on earth, our hearts to thee 
resign. 

Forgive, forgive — even should our full hearts 
break ; [spise : 

The broken heart thou wilt not, Lord, de- 
Ah ! thou art still too gracious to forsake, 



66 BELSHAZZAR. 

Though thy strong hand so heavily chastise. 
Hear all our prayers, hear not our murmurs. 

Lord ; [ador'd. 

And, though our lips rebel, still make thyself 



The Front of the Temple. 

PRIESTS WITHIN. 

Hark ! what dancing footsteps fall 
Light before the Temple wall? 
Who are ye that seek to pass 
Through the burnish'd gate of brass? 
Come ye with the gifts of Kings, 
With the peaco k's bright-eyed wings ? 
With the myrrh and fragrant spice ? 
With the spotless sacrifice ? 
With the spoils of conquered lands? 
With the works of maidens' hands, 
O'er the glittering loom that run, 
Underneath the orient Sun ? 
Bring ye pearl, or choicest gem. 
From a plunderM diadem? 
Ivory wand, or ebony 
From the sable Indian tree ? 
Purple from the Tyrian shore ; 



BELSHAZZAR. 57 

Amber cup, or coral store. 

From the branching trees that grow 

Under the salt sea-water's flow ? 

PRIESTS, WITH BENINA. 

With a fairer gift we come 
To the God's majectic home 
Than the pearls the rich shells weep 
In the Erythrean deep. 
All our store of ebony 
Sparkles in her radient eye. 
Whiter far her spotless skin 
Than the gauzy vestures thin, 
Bleach'd upon the shores of Nile j 
Grows around no palmy isle 
Coral like her swelling lips. 
Whence the gale its sweetness sips, 
That upon the spice-tree blown 
Seems a fragrance all its own ; 
Never yet so fair a maid 
On the bridal couch was laid ; 
Never form beseem'd so well 
The immortal arms of Bel. 

PRIESTS, LEADING HER IN. 

Mid the dashing fountains cool, 
In the marble vestibule. 



58 BELSHAZZAR. 

Where the orang-e branches play, 
Freshen'd by the silver spray, 
Heaven-led virgin, take thy rest, 
Wh.le we bear the silken vest 
And the purple robe of pride 
Meet for Bel's expected bride. 

ALL THE PRIESTS. 

Bridelike now she stands array'd ! 
Welcome, welcome, dark-hair'd maid! 
Lead her in, with dancing feet. 
Lead her in, with music sweet, 
With the cymbals glancing round, 
And the hautboy s silver sound. 
See the golden gates expand. 
And the Priests, on either hand. 
On their faces prone they fall 
Entering the refulgent Hall. 
With the tread that suits thy state, 
Glowing cheek, and look elate. 
With thine high unbending brow, 
Sacred maiden, enter thou. 

I 

FIRST PRIEST. i 

Chosen of Bel, thou stand'st within the Temple, 
W;thm the first and lowest ot' our Halls, [ment, 
Yet not least sumptuous. On the jasper pave- 



k 



BELSHAZZAR. 59 

Each in his deep alcove, Chaldea's Kings 
Stand on their carved pedestals. Behold them ! 
Their marble brows still wear the conscious awe 
Of sovereignty — the mightiest of the dead, 
As of the living. Emment, in the centre, 
The golden statue {') stands of Nabonassar, 
That in the plain of Dura, to the sound 
Of harp, and lute, and dulcimer, received 
The homage of the world. The Scythian hills. 
The margin of the Syrian sea, the Isles 
Of Ocean, their adoring tribes cast down ; 
And the high sun, at noon day, saw no face 
Of all mankind turn'd upward from the dust, 
Save the imperial brow of Nabonassar, 
That rose in lonely loftiness, as now 
Yon awe-crown'd image. 

BENINA. 

Have ye wrought him, too, 
As when he prowl'd the plain, th' associate 
Of the brute herd that browsed around, nor 

own'd 
The dread of a superior presence, beat 
By the uncourtly rains and wintry winds 
Upon the undiadem'd head ? 

PRIEST. 

Cease, cease, nor tempt 



60 BELSHAZZAR. 

The loving patience of the God too far ! 
Advance ! and wind along the aspiring stair. 

PRIESTS. 

Haste ! the fading light of day 
Scarce will gild our lofty way. 
Haste, nor tremble, tender maid! 
To the scnlptur''d balustrade 
Cling not thus with snowy hand; 
None but slaves around thee stand, 
On thy footsteps proud to vvait : 
Hark ! the slow-recoiling gate 
Opens at our trumpets' call ; 
Enter, now, our second Hall. 

SECOND PRIEST. 

Well mayst thou hold thine alabaster hand, 
Through which the rosy light so softly shines^ 
Before thine eyes, oh ! maiden, as thou enterest 
The Chamber of the Tribute. Here thou seest 
The wealth of all the sui ject world, piled up 
In order — from its multitude that seems 
Confusion : in each deep, receding vault, 
O'ei all the spacious pavement, 'tis the same ; 
The fiaming gold, and ivorj, and the gems 



BELSHAZZAR. 61 

If all mankind were Kings, enough to crown 
Each brow with an imperial diadem ! 

BEJVINA. 

Oh ! rapt Isaiah, were they not thy words — 
How hath she ceased — the golden city ceased I 
Will all that wealth but ransom thee an hour, 
Or bribe the impartial and undazzled Ruin 
One instant to suspend its swooping wing ? 

PRIESTS. 

Breathe again the clear blue air ; 
Mount again the marble stair : 
Still we mount — on high — on high, 
To the exulting harmony ! 
Hark ! the strain of triumph rings 
In the Hall of Captive Kings. 

THIRD PRIEST. 

Now pause again : yon chained images 

Are those that ruled the world, or ere the Lord 

Of great Chaldea took the all-ruling sceptre 

Into his iron hand, and laid the pride 

Of all the kingdoms prostrate at his feet. 

BENINA. 

Oh ! King of Judah, thou art there ! Thy foes, 

In charitable cruelty, did quench 

Thy sightless eyes, lest tbou should'st see the 

dwelling [hill; 

Which thou had'st chang'd for Sion's beauteous 
6 



62 BELSHAZZAR. 

Lest thon should'st more than he^r thy sorrow- 
ing* people [dage 
Doom'd by thy sins, and by their own, to boa- 
Thoii, Zedekiah, («) did'st desert thy God, 
And werl of God deserted ; — nor to thee 
Is given, withdrawn into a foreign grave, 
To feel again soft Canaan's fragrant gwles 
On thy blind brow, almost persuading thee 
That, in thy darkness, thou canst still behold 
Some once-lov'd spot, or dsm-remember'd scene. 
The g ad deliverance that comes to Judah 
Comes not to thee. Alas ! to sad Benina, 
Oh, gracious God of Abraham, will it come? 

PRIESTS. 

Maid, again we lift the song ; 
Thy soft feet have rested long ; 
Nearer, nearer as we climb 
To the highest Hall sublime, 
Bride of the Immortal, thee 
All the city throngs to see, 
Floating, like a snowy dove, 
In the azure clouds above. 
Lo ! the fourth of our abodes. 
Chamber of the capt've Gods ! 

BEN'irf.-.. 

Oh, Lord of Ho.^ts! I dare not gaze around me, 
Lest in you heaps of monstrous forms uncouth 



BELSHAZZAR. 63 

The scaly Dagon, and the brute Osiris, 
Moon-crown'd Astarte, or the Sun-like Mithra, 
Some shape I should behold by the blind Gentile 
Held worthy to enclose th' Illimitable [bim, 
That fills the heaven and Earth. The Cheru- 
Perchance, are here, behind whose s^olden wings 
Thy fiery presence dwelt, but dwells no more. 
I know that danger waits me on yon height, 
But thither haste I rather than behold 
Profaning Heathens scorn what thou hast glori- 
fied. 
Lead on 

PRIESTS. 

Half thy journey now is past; 
Who shall wonder at thine haste : — 
Dost not wish for wings to fly 
To thy blissful destmy ? 
Yet, oh tread with footstep light 
As the falling dews of night ; 
Like the gliding serpeni creep 
Where the gifted Dreamers sleep; 
Fold thou close thy fluttermg dress, 
Even thy panting breath suppress, 
Lest some glorious dream we break : 
Lo ! 'tis vain — they move — they wake I 

THE Dki.AME-.'S. 

Hark ! Hark ! the foot — we hear the trembling 
foot, 



64 BELSHAZZAR. 

With motion like the dying wind upon a silver 
lute: 

Upon our sleep it came, as soft itself as sleep ; 

It shone upon our visions like a star upon the 
deep. 

Lo ! lo ! the form, the graceful form we see 

That seem'd, through all the live-long night, be- 
fore our eyes to be : 

Above, the eyes of sparkUng jet, the brow like 
marble fair; 

And down, and o'er the snowy breast, the dark 
and wandering hair. 

Hark ! hark ! the song — we hear the bridal song— 

Amid the listening stars it flows the sounding 

heavens along ! [sky, 

It follows the Immortal down from his empyreal 

Descending to his mortal bride in full divinity I 

EENINA. 

What ! are your dreams so soft ; and saw ye 

nought 
Of midnight flames, that clomb the palace walls, 
And ran along the terrace colonnades. 
And pour'd the Uquid walls in torrent flames 
Of dark asphaltus? — Heard ye not the wail 
Of wounded men, and shrieks of flying women ; 
And the carv'd Gods dash'd down in cumbrous 

ruin 



BELSHAZZAR. 6& 

On their own shrines ? 

PRIESTS. 

Great Bel avert the omen ! 

PRIESTS. 

Hurry on, nor more delay ; 
Shadows darken on our way ; 
Only in the hall we tread ; 
Ask of those the stars that read. 
Catching every influence 
Their all-ruling orhs dispense. 
From those silent Prophets bright 
That adorn the vault of night, 
Watchers of the starry sky, 
Know ye, feel ye, who is nigh? 

ASTROLOGERS. 

What planet rolls its pearly car. 

What 01 b of mild or angry hue ? 
The star of love, the silver star, 

Glides lonely through yon depth of blue. 
We see her sailing motion calm ; 

We hear the music of her sound ; 
We drink Mylitta's C) breathing balm, 

In odorous clouds distill'd around. 
And calm, and musical, and sweet 

Is she that star's mild influence leads — 
The maid that, with her snowy feet. 

Even now the sacred pavement treads. 
6* 



66 BELSHAZZAR. 

BENINA. 

Enough of this ! Oh ! chaste and quiet stars, 
And pure, as all things from infecting Earth 
Remov'd, and near the throne of God ; whose 

calm 
And beautiful obedience to the laws 
Of your great Maker is a mute reproach 
To the unruly courses of this world. 
Would they debase you to the ministers 
And guilty favourers of their sinful purpose ? 

PRIESTS. 

Now our toil is all but done ; 
Now the height is all but won ; 
By the High Priest's lonely seat, 
By Kalassan's still retreat. 
Where, in many a brazen fold, 
The slumbering Dragon lies outroll'd, 
Pass we on, nor pause. Nor thou 
Gaze, oh Priest, with wondering brow I 
Lovelier though her cheek appears 
For her toil and for her tears ; 
And the bosom's vest beneath 
Heaves the quick and panting breath. 

KALASSAN. 

More beautiful ne'er trod our marble stairs ! 

PRIESTS. 

None ! — but still the maid dismiss 
To her place of destined bliss ;— 



BELSHAZZAK. 67 

That no mortal eye may see — 
On ! we may not follow thee : 
Only with our music sweet 
We pursue thy mounting feet. 
Now, upon the topmost height, 
Thou art lost to mortal sight ! 
Lo ! the couch beside thee spread. 
Where the Heaven-loved maids are wed. 
Till the bridal midnight deep 
Bow thy head in balmy sleep — 
Sleep that shall be sweetly broken 
When the God his bride hath woken. 

BEJVIJVA. 

Alone ! alone upon this giddy height ! 
Yet, better thus than by that frantic rout 
Encircled : yet a while, and I shall breathe 
With freedom. Oh ! thou cool, delicious silence, 
How grateful art thou to the ears that ring 
With that wild music's turbulent dissonance ! 

By slow degrees the starlight face of things 
Grows clear around my misty, swimming eyes. 
Oh, Babylon I how art thou spread beneath me i 
Like some wide plain, with rich pavihons set 
Mid the dark umbrage of a summer grove. 
Like a small rivulet, that from bank to bank 
Is ruffled by the sailing cygnet's breast, 
Euphrates seems to wind. Oh! thou vast city. 
Thus dwindled to our human sight, what art thou 



68 BELSHAZZAR. 

To Him that from his throne, above the skies, 
Beyond the circuit of the golden Sun, 
Views all the subject world ! 

The parting day 
To twilight and the few faint early stars 
Hath left the city. On yon western lake 
A momentary gleam is lingering still. [naan, 

Thou'rt purpling now, oh Sun, the vines of Ca- 
And crowning, with rich light, the cedar top 

Of Lebanon, where but oh ! without their 

daughter — 
Soon my sad parents shall return. Where are ye, 
Beloved? I seek in vain the lonely light 
Of our dear cabin on Euphrates' side, [it, 

Amid yon kindling tires. And have ye quench'd 
That all your dwelling be as darkly sad [own, 
As are your childless hearts ? — And thou mine 
I thought this morn, and called thee — Adonijah, 
Art thou, too, thinking of that hour like this; 
1 he balmy, tranquil, and scarce starlight hour, 
When the soft Moon had sent her harbinger, 
Pale Silence, to foreshow her coming presence; 
To hush the winds, and smooth the clouds be- 
fore her? 
That hour, that, with delicious treachery, stole 
The secret from Benina's lips she long'd. 
From her full heart, t' unburthen ? Better, now, 



BELSHAZZAR. 69 

Had it been buried in eternal darkness, 
Than thus have kindled hopes that shone so 

softly — 
Were quench'd so soon, so utterly. — 

Fond heart, 
These soft, desponding, yet delightful thoughts, 
Must not dissolve thee to mistrust in him 
That fill'd thee as with fire, and touch'd my lips 
With holy scorn of all the wealth and pride 
That blazed around my path. Even now I feel 
My trembling foot more firm ; and, like the 

eagle's. 

Mine eyes familiar with their cloudy height 

What's here ? — an hurried tread 

What art thou ? speak ! 

KALASSAN. 

The honour'd of the God that honours thee. 
Oh, miracle of beauty! I beheld thee. 
And strove with my impatient spirit within 
To wait th' appointed hour ; — but, as the pilgrim 
Sees the white fountain in the palmy shade, 
Nor brooks delay, even thus my thirsty eyes 
Demand their instant feast. 

EENINA. 

Thou should'st have brought 
The sage Diviners to unfold the meaning 
Of this dark language. 



70 BELSHAZZAR. 

KA LASS AN. 

Loveliest bashfulness ! 
Or is it but the sportive ignorance 
That laughs beneath the dark and gUttering 

eyelids, 
At the delighted dope of its dissembling? 

BENINA. 

Peace, and avaunt ! 

KALAgSAN. 

Oh maid ! tliat art so beauteous 
That yon bright Moon is rising, all in haste, 
To gaze on thee, or to display thy grace 
To him, that, lost in wonder, scarce hath melted 
To love. 

The snowy light falls where she treads, 
As Hwere a sacred place ! in her loose locks 
It wanders, even as with a sense of pleasure 1 
And trembles on her bosom, that hath caught 
Its gentle restlessness, and trembles, too. 
Harmonious. 

BENINA. 

Must mine ears endure thee still? 

KAI.ASSAN. 

And know'st thou not why thou art here ; what 

bliss, 
What bridal rapture waits thee ? 

BENIKA. 

There are sin» 



BALSHAZZAR. n 

Whose very dread infects the virjSfin'^ soul, 
Tainting the fountain of her secret thou<^hts ; 
I'm here to suffer evil — what, I know not, 
But will remain in holy ignorance, 
Till my dark hour of trial. 

KALASSMf. 

Hast thou never, 
Soft maid, when fervid noon bathes all the world 
In silence, in thy fond and wandering thoughts, 
Beheld a noble bridegroom seated near thee, 
And heard him, 'mid sweet falls of marriage- 
music. 
Whispering what made thy pale cheek burn ? 

BENIVA. 

Away !— 
And must he see my tears ? and think me weak, 
And of my God abandon d ? 

KALASSAJV. 

Lo ! the couch 
Bestrewn with flowers, whose fragrance and 

whose hues 
Shall not have faded, till great Bel come down 
Beneath that dimly canopied alcove 

BENIN -v. 

There's that within thy words I ought to fear : 
But it should seem, that with the earth I've left 
All earthly fears beneath me. 1 defy 
Thee and thy Gods alike. 



72 BELSHAZZAR. 

KALASSAN. 

Alike in truth ; 
For sometimes doth the Mightiest not disdain 
To veil his glories in a mortal shape, 
Even great Kalassan's. Look on me, and say 
If" he could choose a nobler. 

BENINA. 

What ! and fear'st not 
Thine own false G)ds — thou worse than Idol 

worshipper ? 
Why even the senseless wood and stone might 

wake 
To indignation, and their fiery vengeance 
Break forth from Heaven. Alas ! and what have 

they, 
Whose name thou dost usurp to cloke thy sin, 
To do with Heaven more than thy loathsome 

self? 

KALASSAN. 

Thine eyes, albeit so full of scorn, survey not 
My form in vain. I tell thee. Maid, I tread 
This earth so conscious that the best of Deity, 
The power and majesty reside within me, 
That I but stoop to win myself a bride 
Beneath another name : here 'mid the clouds 
J stand, as in mine own appropriate place. 

BENINA. 

The darkest pit of Tophet were too light 
For thine offence. 



BELSHAZZAR. 7^v 

KALASSA.N. 

Oh ! soft and musical voice, 
Art thou so lavish of injurious words ? 
Erewhile thou'lt be as prodigal of fondness; 
So now prepare thee : ere two hours are past 
Thou wedd'st Kalassan, or Kalassan's God, 
Or both, or either, which thou wilt. Farewell 
A little while : but I beseech thee, wear 
When I return this soft becoming pride ; 
Nor imitate, as yet, the amorous slaves 
That weary with officious tenderness. 
Be as thou seem'st, a kindred spirit with mine. 
And we will mate like eagles in the Heavens. 
And give our children an immortal heritage 
To bathe their plumage in the tiery sun. 

BENiNA {alone.) 
Bid the earth bear thee, monster ! or art thou 
Th Eternal Enemy in the human shape? 
Oh ! 'tis the innocent's hest security. 
That the unrighteous pluck the thunderbolt 
With such resistless violence on their heads. 
Lord of the insulted Heavens ! thou canst not 

strike 
This impious man, without delivering me ; 
Me, else unworthy of thy gracious mercy. 

But lo ! what blaze of light beneath me spreads 
O'er the wide city. Like yon galaxy 
7 



;4 BELSHAZZAR. 

Above mine head, each long and spacious street 
Becomes a line of silver light, the trees 
In all their silent avenues break out 
In flowers of tire. But chief around the Palace 
Whitens the glowing splendour ; every court 
That lay in misty dimness indistinct, 
Is traced by pillars and high architraves 
Of crystal lamps that tremble in the wind : 
Each portal arch gleams like an earthly rainbovir, 
And ©""er the front spreads one entablature 
Of living gems of every hue, so bright 
That the pale Moon, in virgin modesty, 
Retreating from the dazzling and the tumult, 
Afar upon the distant plain reposes 
Her unaml»itious beams, or on the bosom 
Of the blue river, ere it reach the walls. 
Hark ! too, the sou?ids of revelry and song 
Upon the pinions of the breeze come up 
Even to this height. No eye is closed in sleep ; 
^one in vast Babylon but wakes to joy — 
None — none is sad and desolate but I. 
Yet over all, I know not whence or how, 
A dim oppression loads the air, and sounds 
As of vast wings do somewhere seem to brood 
And hover on the winds ; and I that most 
Should tremble for myself, the appoint^^d prey 
Of sin, am bow'd, as with enforced compassion, 



BELSHAZZAR. 75 

To think on sorrows not mine own, to weep 
O'er those whose laughter and whose song up- 
braids 
My prodigality of mis-spent pity. 
1 will go rest, if rest it may be calPd — 
Not, \donijah — not to think of thee. 
Oh ! bear a brief unwilling banishment 
From thme own home, my heart; I cannot cope 
With thy subduing image, and be strong. 

CHORUS OF BA.EYLONIANS BEFORE THE PALACE, 

Awake ! nwake ! put on thy garb of pride, 
Array thee like a sumptuous royal bride, 

O festal Babylon ! 

Lady, whose ivory throne 
Is by the side of many azure waters ! 
In floating dance, like birds upon the wing, 
Send tinkling forth thy silver-sandal'd daughters; 

Send in the solemn march. 

Beneath each portal arch. 
Thy rich-robed lords to crowd the banquet of 
their Kiisg. 

They come I they come from both the illumin- 
ed shores ; 
Down each long street the festive tumult pours ; 

Along the waters dark 

Shoots many a gleaming bark, 



76 BELSHAZZAR. 

Like stars along the midnight welkin flashings 
And galleys, with their masts enwreath'd with 

light, [dash;ng ; 

From their quick oars the kindling waters 
In one long moving line 
Along the bridge they shine, 
And with their glad disturbance wake the peace- 
ful night. 

Hang forth, hang forth, in all your avenues, 
The arching lamps of more than rainbow hues, 

Oh ! gardens of delight ! 

With the cool airs of night 
x\re lightly waved your silver-foliaged trees. 
The deep-embower'd yet glowing blaze prolong 
Height above height the lofty terraces ; 

Seeing this new day-break, 

The nestling birds awake, [song 

The nightingale hath hush'd her sweet untimely 

Lift up, lift up your golden-valved doors, 
Spread to the glittering dance your marble floors, 

Palace ! whose spacious halls, 

And far-receding walls. 
Are hung with purple like the morning skies j 
And all the hving luxuries of sound 
Pour from the long out-stretching galleries ; 

Down every colonnade 



BELSHAZZAR. 77 

The sumptuous board is laid, [crownM 

With golden cups and lamps and bossy chargers 

They haste, they haste ! the high-crown'd Ru- 
lers stand. 

Each with his sceptre in his kingly hand ; 
The bearded Elders sage, 
Though pale with thought and age ; 

Those through whose bounteous and unfailing 
hands 

The tributary streams of treasure flow 

From the rich bounds of earth's remotest lands ; 
All but the pomp and pride 
Of battle laid aside, [row. 

Chaldea's Captains stand in many a glittering 

They ghde, they glide ! each, like an antelope, 
Boundmg in beauty on a sunny slope, 

With full and speaking eyes, 

And graceful necks that rise 
O'er snowy bosoms in their emulous pride, 
The chosen of earth's choicest loveliness ; 
Some with the veil thrown timidly aside, 

Some boastful and elate 

In their majestic state 
Whose bridal bed Belshazzar's self hath deign'(f 
to bless. 

7* 



78 BELSHAZZAR. 

Come forth ! come forth ! and crown the peer- 
less feast, [east I 
Thou whose high birthright was the efifulgent 

On th' ivory seat alone, 

Monarch of Babylon ! 
Survey the interminable wilderness 
Of splendour, stretching far beyond the sight j 
Nought but thy presence wants there now to bless: 

The music waits for thee, 

Its fount of harmony. 
Transcending glory thou of this thrice glorious 
night ! [proud 

Behold ! behold ! each gem-crown'd forehead 
And every plume and crested helm is bow'd, 

Each high-arch'd vault along 

Breaks out the blaze of song, 
Belshazzar comes I nor Bel, when he returns 
From riding on his stormy thunder-clou. 1, 
To where his bright celestial palace burns, 

Alights with loftier tread, 

More full of stately dread. 
While under his tix'd feet the loaded skies are 
bow'd. 



BELSHAZZAR. 79 

The Hall of Banquet. 

CHORUS. 

Mightiest of the sons of man ! 

The Hon in his forest lair, 

The eagle in the fields of air, 
Amid the tumbling waves Leviathan, 

In power without or peer or mate, 

Hold their inviolable state : 

Alone Belshazzar jstands on earth, 
Pre-eminent o'er all of human birth, 

Mightiest of the sons of man ! 

Richest of the sons of man ! 

For thee the mountains teem with gold, 

The spicy groves their bloom unfold, 

The bird of beauty bears its feathery fan. 
And amber paves the yellow seas, 
And spread the branching t:oral trees. 
Nor shrouds the mine its deepest gem, 

Ambitious to adorn Belshazzar's diadem. 
Richest of the sons of man i 

Fairest of the sons of man ! 
Tall as the cedar towers thine head, 
And fleet and terrible thy tread, 
As the strong coursers in the battle's van ; 



80 BELSHAZZAR. 

An Eden blooms upon thy face ; 
Like music, thy majestic grace 
Holds the mute gazer's breath suppressed, 
And makes a tumult in the wondering breast, 
Fairest of the sons of man ! 

Noblest of the sons of man ! 
The first a kingly rule that won, 
Wide as the journey of the sun. 

From Nimrod thine high-sceptred race began ; 
And gathering splendour still, went down 
From sire to son the eternal crown, 
Till full on great Belshazzar's crest 

Its high meridian glory shone confest, — 
Noblest of the sons of man ! 

Happiest of the sons of man ! 

In wine, in revel, and in joy 

Was softly nursed the imperial boy ; 
His golden years hke Indian rivers ran, 

And every rapturous hour surpast 

The glowing rapture of the last, 

Even till the plenitude of bliss 
Did overflow and centre all in this. 

Happiest of the sons of man ! 

SABARIS. 

Peace ! peace ! the king vouchsafes his gracious 
speech. 



BELSHAZZAR. 81 

Sit ye like statues silent ! ye have quaff'd 
The liquid gladness of the blood-red wine, 
And ye have eaten of the golden fruits 
That the sun ripens but for kingly lips, 
And now ye are about to feast your ears 
With great Belshazzar's voice, 

ARIOCH. 

The crowded hall 
Suspense, and prescient of the coming joy, 
Is silent as the cloudless summer skies. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Oh ye, assembled Babylon ! fair youths 

And hoary Elders, Warriors, Counsellors, 

And bright eyed Women, down my festal board 

Reclining ! oh ye thousand living men, 

Do ye not hold your charter'd breaih from me ? 

And I can plunge your souls in wine and joy j 

Or by a word, a look, dismiss you all 

To darkness and to shame : yet, are ye not 

Proud of the slavery that thus enthrals you ? 

What king, what ruler over subject man 

Or was, or is, or shall be like Belshazzar ? 

I summon from their graves the sceptred dead 

Of elder days, to see their shame. I cry 

Unto the cloudy Past, unfold the thrones 

That glorified the younger world : I call 

To the dim Future — lift thy veil and show 



82 BELSHAZZAR. 

The destined lords of humankind : they rise, 
They bow their veiled heads to the dust, and own 
The throne whereon Chaldea's Monarch sits, 
The height and pinnacle of human glory. 

Oh ancient cities, o'er whose streets the grass 
Is green, whose name hath withered from the face 
Of earth ! Oh ye by rich oerflowing Nile, 
Memphis, and hundred-gated Thebes — and thou, 
Assyrian Nineveh, and ye golden towers 
That redden o'er the Indian streams, what are ye 
To Babylon— Eternal Babylon ! 
That's girt with bulwarks strong as adamant. 
O'er whom Euphrates' restless waves keep 

watch. 
That, like the high and everlasting Heavens, 
Grows old, yet not less glorious ? Yes, to you 
I turn, oh azure-curtain'd palaces ! [motion 

Whose lamps are stars, whose music, the sweet 
Of your own spheres, in whom the banqueters 
Are Gods, nor fear my Babylonian halls, 
Even with your splendours to compare. 

Bring wine ! 
I see your souls are jocund as mine own : 
Pour in yon vessels of the Hebrews' God 
Belshazzar's beverage — pour it high. Hear, 
earth ! [man. 

Hear, Heaven ! my proud defiance ! Oh, what 

What God 



BELSHAZZAR. 83 

SABARIS AND MANY VOICES. 

The king ! the king ! look to the king ! 

ARIOCH. 

Where ' I can see nor king nor people — nothing 
But a bewildering, red, and gloom-like light 
That swallows up the fiery canopy 
Of lamps. 

SABARIS. 

Hath blindness smitten thee ? 

ARIOCH. 

I know not ; 
But all things swim around me in a darkness 
That dazzles 

SABARIS. 

See, his shuddering joints are loosen'd, 
And his knees smite each other : such a face 
Is seen in tombs : — what means it? 

ARIOCH. 

See'stnot thou 
That taunted'st me but now — upon the wall — 
There — there — it moves 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Oh dark and bodiless hand, 
What art thou — thus upon my palace wall 
Gliding in shadowy, slow, gigantic blackness ? 
Lo ! fiery letters, where it moves, breaks out : 
'Tis there — 'tis gone : — 'tis there again— no, 
nouofht 



84 BELSHAZZAR. 

But those strange characters of flame, that burn 
Upon the unkindled wall : — I cannot read them — 
Can ye ? 

I see your quivering lips that speak not — 
Sabaris — Arioch — Captains — Elders — all 
As pale and horror-stricken as myself! 
Are there no wiser ? Call ye forth the 
Dreamers, 
And those that read the stars, and every priest, 
And he that shall interpret best shall wear 
The scarlet robe and chain of gold, and sit 
Third ruler of my realm. Away ! — No — leave 

me not 
To gaze alone ; — alone, on those pale signs 
Of destiny — the unextinguishable, 

The indelible Strew, strew my couch where 

best 
1 may behold what sears my burning eyeballs 
To gaze on — and the cold blood round my heart 
To stand, like snow. No — ache mine eyes, and 

quiver 
My palsied limbs — I cannot turn away — 
Here am 1 bound as by thrice linked brass, 
Here, till the burthen of mine ignorance 
Be from my loaded soul taken off, in silence 
Deep as the midnight round a place of tombs. 



BELSHAZZAR. 8r. 

The Summit of the Temple. 

BENINA. 

How long, O Lord ! how long must I endure 
This restlessness of danger ? — I have wish'd 
That even the worst were come, I am so sick 
And weary with suspense : I have sate and gazed 
Upon the silent moon, as she pursued 
Her journey to yon blue celestial height. 
Pilgrim of Heaven ! the white translucent clouds, 
Through which she wanders, fall away, nor leave 
A taint upon her spotless orb : Shall I, 
O Lord ! emerge in purity as stainless 
From the dark clouds that dim mine earthly 



course 



And sometimes as a whispering sound came up, 
Though but the voice of some light breathing- 
wind 
Along the stair, I felt my trembling heart, 
And 1 grew guilty of a timorous doubt 
In Him, whose guardian hand is o'er me. 

Hark ! 
Hark ! all around — above — beneath — it bursts, 

The long deep roll of in yon cloudless 

skies : 
It cannot be God's thunder, and the fires, 
Blue as the sulphurous lightning, rise from earth.. 
8 



86 BELSHAZZAR. 

Not Heaven. Oh madly impious ! dare ye thus 
Mimic the all-destroying arms that rage 
Against the guilty ? the vast temple shakes, 
And all the clouded atmosphere is red 
With the hell-born tempest — like to rushing 

chariots 
Upon a stony way, like some vast forest 
Ablaze with an heaven-kindled conflagration, 
It comes, it comes — as in a tent of clouds, 
Rent at each moment by the flashing light, 
The gloom rolls back — it bursts. Speak ! — who 

art thou. 
Whose robes are woven as from the starry 

Heavens? 
What means th'dt sceptre, and the wreaths, like 

mist, 
That turban thy dusk brow ? — 1 know thee now — 
I see it grow into a hideous likeness — 
Kalassan ! 

KALASSAW. 

Oh most sweet humility. 
That doth disdain the modest palliation 
Of being a Deity's enforced bride ; 
Her fond detection pierces every veil. 
And springs in raptures to her mortal lover. 

BEWIWA. 

Oh can I wonder that thou dost bely 

The innocent helpless virgin, when thy falsehood 



BELSHAZZAR. 87 

Aspires with frantic blasphemy t' attaint 
The immaculate Heavens ? 

KALASSAN. 

Roll on ! I say, — roll on 
My bridal music ! the ear-stunning tambour — 
Blaze forth my marriage fires ! 

BEHriJVA. 

Avaunt ! — my cries 

KALASSAN. 

Thy cries ! Thou mighf st as well,onTaurus' brow 
Call to the shipman on the Caspian Sea ! 
See'st thou how far thou art from earth ? 

BENINA. 

See'st thou 
How near to Heaven ? 

KALASSAN. 

To Heaven ! behold, the stars 
Pierce not the cool pavilion, where soft Darkness, 
Our handmaid, hangs her nuptial canopy. 
At times illumin'd by the flashing light 
That loves to linger on thy kindling beauty. 

BENINA. 

'Tis as he says! — nor sound, nor gleam of suc- 
cour 

Thy bride — oh, Adonijah ! — ah, no bride 

Of thine! — lost — lost to thee — would 'twere by 
death ! 

Is 't for the sin of loving thee too fondly 



88 BELSHAZZAR. 

I am deserted ! — Spare me, Man of Terror, 
And prayers for thee (they say, God loves the 

prayers 
Of the nndefi(ed) shall rise as constantly 
As summer-dews at eve. 

KALASSAN. 

Now louder! louder! 
Let there be triumph in your martial sounds. 

BKMNA. 

Oh God ! oh God ! I have condemn'd myself, 
And fallen from the faith Ah, not for me ! 
For thine own glory suffer not the Heathen 

To boast of Ha ! — all silence, and all gloom — 

1 tremble — but he trembles too 

KALASSAW. 

With wrath ! 
Slaves ! wherefore have ye quenchM mine 

earthly light, 
And still'd my storm ? 

VOICE BELOW. 

KalafJsan ! 
kalassan. 

Slaves ! 

VOICE. 

Kalassaa ! 

BENIN A. 

Thou'rt caird 

VOICE. 

Kalassan ! to Belshazzar's presence 
We are summon'd : — Priest, Diviuer, Seerj thy- 
self;— 



BELSHAZZAR. 89 

If thou delay 'st, stern Arioch's sword must sever 
The disobedient head ! 

BENINA. 

With tears, not words, 
I bless thee, Lord ! 

KALASSAIf. 

Is this thy God ? 

BENlNA. 

My God, 
In his omnipotence, doth make the wrath 
Of hurricanes and desolating fires 
His ministers — why not the breath of Kings ? 

KALASSAIf. 

The hour will come in which to tame thy scorn ! 

BEIflJVA. 

The houris come that frees me from thy presence: 
Haste, haste 

VOICE. 

Kalassan ! 

KALASSAJr. 

Slaves ! I come. 

BENIJVA. 

Away! 
Thou 'It pardon me my fond solicitude. 
Impatient of thy lingering. 

KALASSAN. 

Fare thee well 
Till I return, 

8 * 



m BELSHAZZAR. 

BENINA. 

Till thou return'st He's gone ! 

I did not think that 1 could hear his tread, 
His angry tread, with such a deep delight. 
Oh ! my fond parents ! when we meet again. 
We shall not meet with strange, averted looks : 
Ye will not, in sad pity, take me back 
A shamed and blighted child to your cold bosoms. 
And thou, betroth'd, belovM — I shall endure 
To stand before thy face, nor wish the earth 
To shroud me from thine unreproaching gaze ; 
For were I all I fear'd, thou had'st ne'er re- 

proach'd me ! 
And oh, sweet Siloe ! oh, my Father's land ! 
Land where the feet may wander where they 

will- 
Land where the heart may love without a fear I 
I feel that I shall tread thee ; for the Lord 
Pours not his mercies in a sparing measure. 
This is the earnest of his love — the seal 
With which he marks us for his own, his blest, 
His ransom'd ! Oh ! fair Zion, lift thou up 
Thy crown, that glitters to the morning Sun ! 
They come — thy lost, thy banish'd children 

come — 
And thy streets rise to sounds of melody ! 



BELSHAZZAK. 9* 

The Hall of Banquet^ with the Fierij Letters on the 
Wall. 

ARIOCH. 

Hath the Kmg spoken ? 

SABARIS. 

Not a word : as now, 
He hath sate, with eyes that strive to grow fa- 
miliar 
With those red characters of fire : but still 
The agony of terror hath not pass'd 
From his chill frame. But, if a word, a step, 
A motion, from those multitudes reclined 
Down each long festal board ; the bursting string 
Of some shrill instrument ; or even the wind. 
Whispering amid the plumes and shaking lamps, 
Disturb him — by some mute, imperious gesture, 
Or by his brown's stern anger, he commands 
All the vast Halls to silence. 

ARIOCH. 

Peace ! he hears 
Our murmured speech. 

gABARIS. 

No. 

ARIOCH, 

Did ye not observe him. 
When his hand fell upon the all-ruling sceptre, 



92 BELSHAZZAR. 

The hitter and self-mocking laugh that pass'd 
O'er his pale cheek ? 

SABARIS, 

His lips move, but he speaks not ! 
All still again 

ARIOCH. 

They are here : — the Priests and Seers ; 
Their snowy garments sweep the Hall. 

SABARIS. 

Behold ! 
He motions them to advance and to retreat 
At once — and pants, yet shudders, to demand 
Their answer. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Oh ! Chaldea's worshipped Sages — 
Oh ! men of wisdom., that have passed your 

years — 
Your long and quiet, solitary years. 
In tracing the dim sources of th' events 
That agitate this world of man — oh ! ye 
That in the tongues of every clime discourse ; 
Ye that hold converse with the eternal stars, 
And, in their calm prophetic courses, read 
The destinies of empires; ye whose dreams 
Are throng'd with the predestined images 
Of things that are to be ; to whom the Fates 
Unfold their secret councils ; to whose sight 
The darkness of Futurity withdraws, 



BELSHAZZAR, 93 

And one vast Present fills all Time — behold 
Yon burnin* characters ! and read, and say 
Why the dark Destinies have hung their sen- 
tence 
Thus visible to the sight, but to the mind 
Unsearchable ? — Ye have heard the rich reward ; 
And I but wait to see whose neck shall wear 

The chain of glory 

Ha ! each pale fallen lip 
Voiceless ! and each upon the other turns 

HiS wan and questioning looks. Kalassan ! 

thou 
Art like the rest, and gazest on thy fellows 
In blank and sullen ignorance. — Spurn them 

forth ! 
Ye wise ! ye learned ! ye with Fate's mysteries 
Entrusted ! Spurn, I say, and trample on them ! 
Let them be outcast to the scorn of slaves ! 
Let children pluck their beards, and every voice 
Hoot at them as they pass ! 

Despair ! Despair ! 
This is thy palace now ! No throne, no couch 
Beseems the King, whose doom is on his walls 
Emblazed — yet whose vast empire finds not one 
Whose faithful love can show its mystic import 1 
Low on the dust, upon the pavement-stone, 
Belshazzar takes his rest ! — Ye host of slaves. 



94 BELSHAZZAR. 

Behold your King ! the Lord of Babylon !— 
Speak not — for he that speaks, in other words 
But to expound those fiery characters, 
Shall ne'er speak more ! 

NiTocRis (^entering). 

As thou did'st give command, 
My son, I'm here to see the all-glorious feast 
That shame? the earth, and copes with Heaven J 

Great Powers ! 
Is't thus ? Oh ! look not with that mute re- 
proach. 
More terrible than anger, on thy mother ! 
Oh, pardon my rash taunts ! — my son ! my son ! 
Thou art but now the beauteous, smihng child, 
That from my bosom drank the flowing life ; 
By whom Tve pass'd so many sleepless nights 
In deeper joy than slumber e'er could give ! 
The sole refreshment of my weary spirit 
To gaze on thee ! — Alas ! 'twas all my crime : — 
I gave to thy young lips the mantling cup 
Of luxury and pride ; 1 taught thee first 
That the wide earth was made for thee, and man 
Born for thy uses ! 

BELSHAZZAR, 

Find me who will read it, 
And thou wilt give me, then, a life more pre^ 
cious 



BALSHAZZAR. 95 

Than that I once received of thee- 

BTITOCRIS. 

'Twas he ; 
I saw him as I pass'd along the courts, 
The Hebrew, that, when visions of the night 
Shook the imperial soul of Nabonassar, 
Like one to whom the dimly-peopled realms 
Of sleep were clear as the bright noontide Hea- 
vens, Spake 

BELSHAZZAR. 

With the speed of lightning call him hither. 
No more, my mother — till he comes, no more. 

ARIOCH. 

King o{ the world, he's here. 

BELSHAZZAR, 

Not yet! not yet 1 
Delay him ! hold him back ! — My soul's not 

strung 
To the dire knowledge. 

Up the voiceless hall 
He moves ; nor doth the white and ashen fear, 
That paints all faces, change one line of his. 
Audacious slave ! walks he erect and firm, 
When kings are groveling on the earth? — Give 

place ! 
Why do ye crowd around him ? Back ! I say. 
Is your king heard — or hath he ceased to rule 1 

NITOCRIS. 

Alas! my son, fear levels kings and slaves. 



®6 BELSHAZZAR. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Art thou that Daniel of the Hebrew race. 
In whom the excellence of wisdom dwells 
As in the Gods ? 1 have heard thy fame : — be- 
hold 
Yon mystic letters, flaming on the wall, 
That, in the darkness of their fateful import, 
Baffle the wisest of Chaldea's sages ! 
Read, and interpret ; and the satrap robe 
Of scarlet shall invest thy limbs ; the chain 
Of gold adorn thy neck ; and all the world 
Own thee third ruler of Chaldea's realm ! 

DANIEL. 

Belshazzar, be thy gifts unto thyself, 
And thy rewards to others I, the servant 
Of God, will read God's writing to the King, 
The Lord of Hosts to thy great Ancestor, 
To Nabonassar, gave the all ruling sceptre 
O'er all the nations, kingdoms, languages; 
Lord paramount of life and death, he slew 
Where'er he will'd ; and where he will'd men 

lived; 
His word exalted, and his word debased ; 
And so his heart sweli'd up ; and, in its pride, 
Arose to Heaven ! But then the Lord of earth 
Became an outcast from the sons of men — 
Companion of the browsing beasts ! the dews 



BELSHAZZAR. 97 

Of night fell cold upon his crownless brow, 
And the wild asses of the desert fed 
Round their unenvied peer I And so he knew 
That God is Sovereign o'er earth's sceptred 

Lords. 
But thou, his son, unwarn'd, untaught, untamed, 
Belshazzar, hast arisen against the Lord, 
And in the vessels of his house hast quaff 'd 
Profane libations, 'mid thy slaves and women, 
To gods of gold, and stone, and wood ; and 

laugh'd 
The King of Kings, the God of Gods, to scorn. 
Now hear the words, and hear their secret 

meaning — [Divided 1" King, 

" Number'd !" twice " Number'd 1 Weigh'd 1 
Thy reign is number'd, and thyself art weigh'd. 
And wanting in the balance, and thy realm 
Sever'd, and to the conquering Persian given ! 

ARIOCII. 

What vengeance will he wreak ? The pit of 

lions — 
The stake — 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Go — lead the Hebrew forth, array'd 
In the proud robe, let all the city hail 
The honour'd of Belshazzar. Oh ! not long 
Will that imperial name command your awe ! 
9 



98 BELSHAZZAR. 

And, oh ! ye bright and festal halls, whose vaults 
Were full of sweet sounds as the summer groves, 
Must je be changed for chambers, where no tone 
Of music sounds, nor melody of harp, 
Or lute, or woman's melting voice ?— My mo- 
ther !— 
And how shall we two meet the coming ruin ? 
In arms ! thou say'st ; but with what arms, to 

front 
The Invisible, that in the silent air [lence, 

Wars on us ? Shall we seek some place of si- 
Where the cold cypress shades our Fathers' 

tombs. 
And grow familiar with the abode of Death ? 

And yet how calm, how fragrant, how serene 
The night ! — When empires fall, and Fate 

thrusts down [said, 

The monarchs from their ancient thrones, 'tis 
The red stars meet, with ominous, hostile fires ; 
And the dark vault of Heaven flames all acioss 
With meteors ; and the conscious earth is rock'd ; 
And foaming rivers burst their shores ! But now, 
Save in my soul, there is no prescient dread : — 
Nought but my fear-struck brow is dark and sad. 
All sleeps in moonlight silence : ye can wave, 
Oh happy gardens ! in the cool night airs 
Your playful branches ; ye can rise to Heaven, 



BELSHAZZAR. 99 

And glitter, my unconscious palace-towers ; 
No gliding hand, no Prophet's voice, to you 
Hath rent the veil that hides the awful future ! 
Well, we'll go rest once more on kingly couches, 
My mother, and we'll wake and feel that earth 
Still trembles at our nod, and see the slaves 
Reading their fate in our imperial looks ! 

And then — and then Ye Gods ! that I had still 

Nought but my shuddering and distracting fears ; 
That those dread letters might resume once more 
Their dark and unintelligible brightness; 
Or that 'twere o'er, and I and Babylon 
Were — what a few short days or hours will 
make us ! 



Move the City, 

THE DESTROYING A2VGEL, 

The hour is come ! the hour is come ! With 

voice 
Heard in thy inmost soul, I summon thee, 
Cyrus, the Lord's anointed ! And thou River, 
That flow'st exulting in thy proud approach 
To Babylon, beneath whose shadowy walls 
And brazen gates, and gilded palaces, 
And groves, that gleam with marble obelisks, 
Thy azure bosom shall repose, with hghts 



iOO BELSHAZZAR. 

Fretted and chequer'd like the starry heavens : 

I do arrest thee in thy stately course, 

By Him that pour'd thee from thine ancient 

fountain, 
And sent thee forth, even at the birth of Time, 
One of his holy streams, to lave the mounts 
Of Paradise. Thou hear'st me : thou dost check 
Abrupt thy waters, as the Arab chief 
His headlong- squadrons. Where the unobserved 
Yet toiling Persian breaks the ruining mound, 
I see thee gather thy tumultuous strength ; 
And, through the deep and roaring Naharmal- 

cha,e) 
Roll on, as proudly conscious of fulfilling 
The Omnipotent command ! While, far away, 
The lake, that slept but now so calm, normoved 
Save by the rippling moonshme, heaves on high 
Its foaming surface, like a whirlpool gulf. 
And boils and whitens with the unwonted tide. 

But silent as thy billows used to flow, 
And terrible the hosts of Elam move, 
Wmding their d irksome way profound, where 

man 
Ne'er trod, nor light e'er shone, nor air from 

Heav'n 
Breathed. Oh ! ye secret and unfathom'd depths. 
How are ye now a smooth and royal way 



BELSHAZZ^R. 101 

For th' army of God's vengeance ! Fellow slaves, 

And ministers of the Eternal purpose, 

Not guided by the treacherous injured sons 

Of Babylon, but by my mightier arm. 

Ye come, and spread your banners, and display 

Your glittering arms as ye advance, all white 

Beneath th' admiring moon. Come on ! the gates 

Are open — not for banqueters in blood 

Like you ! — I see on either side o'erflow 

The living deluge of arm'd men, and cry 

Begin, begin, with fire and sword begin 

The work of wrath. Upon my shadowy wings 

I pause and float a little while to see 

Mine human instruments fulfil my task 

Of final ruin. Then I mount, I fly, 

And sing my proud song, as I ride the clouds, 

That stars may hear, and all the hosts of worlds. 

That live along the interminable space, 

Take up Jehovah's everlasting triumph. 



The Streets of Babylon. 
Adonijah, Imlah. 

ADONIJAH. 

Imlah ! this way he motion'd me to pass. 

IMLAH. 

My son ! (alas ! I ever call thee son, 
9* 



102 BELSHAZZAR. 

Though my old childless heart but bleeds the 

more 
At that fond name), the broad Euphrates lies 
That way, nor boat nor bark is wont to moor 
By that inhospitable pier ; he meant 
Toward the Temple — that way leads not thither. 

ADONIJAH. 

Father, the Lord will make a way, where'er 
His Prophets do direct our feet. Thou saw'st not 
As ! ; they led him at the king's command 
Along the streets, in scarlet clad, and made 
Their trumpets clamour, and their voices shout 
Before great Daniel ,* but it seem'd he mark'd 
Nor trumpet sound, nor voice of man: the garb, 
Th' array, the triumph touched not him : he held 
A strange, elate, and voiceless intercourse 
With some dark being in the clouds ; for now 
I saw him, as the torches shone upon him — 
His brow like some crown'd warrior's, when his 

hosts 
Are spreading, in their arm'd magnificence. 
Over a conquer'd realm; and now he seem'd 
To count impatient the slow time ; and now 
He look'd. where in the distant darkness rose 
The Temple, now where still the palace shone 
With its rich festal light, as though he watch'd 
And listen'd for some earthquake to o'erthrow 

them. 



BELSHAZZAR. 103 

His ominous looks were terrible with ruin ; 
The majesty of God's triumphant vengeance 
Was in his tread : even thus the Patriarch look'd, 
When, mounting in his ark, he saw the deluge 
Come sweeping o'er the doom'd yet heedless 

world. 
Something, be sure, the hand of God prepares 
To rescue, to revenge. 

IMLAH. 

Too late ! too late ! 
Oh that last night ! 

ADONIJAH. 

My father ! 

IMLAH. 

Thou art right ; 
'Twas rashly, madly spoken — but ray spirit 
Is wrung almost to find a deadly pleasure 
In madly uttering what the heart abhors. 
I'll on with thee. 

ADONIJAH. 

He motion'd me alone. 

IMLaH. 

He did — and he must be obey'd : farewell, 
Dear youth — dear son ! if thou should'st meet 

with her 
Cast forth in scorn, and groveling on the earth, 
Chide her not, Adonijah— speak not to her, 
Lest thy compassion seem to mock her shame : 



104 BELSHAZZAR. 

But, pray thee, lead her to the old man's home — 
To the old man's heart, that will not love her less, 
Though his love have less of pride and more of 

sorrow. 
Farewell, and prosper! 

I 11 go wander on 
Through the dusk streets Poor Naomi ! I left 

thee, 
Thy wretchedness had wrought its own relief, 
Asleep. Oh thou, if thou shouUfst never wake, 
Thrice bless'd. Belov'd, I should mourn for thee, 
But envy while I mourn'd. 

Great King of vengeance, 
God of my fathers I thou art here at length. 
Behold! behold! from every street the flames 
Burst out, and armed men, proud conquering men, 
Move in the blaze they 've kindled to destroy. 
Are ye the avenging Spirits of the Lord, 
Descended on the blast, and clouding o'er 
The Heavens, as ye come down, with that red 

cope 
Deeper than lightning ? No — it is the Mede, 
The ravaging, the slaughtering, merciless Mede. 
This way they fly, with shrieks,and clashing arms, 
And multitudes that choke th' impassable streets, 
Till the fierce conqueror hew his ruthless way. 
Shall not 1 fly ? and wherefore ? Oh ! waste on, 
And burn, triumphant stranger ! trample down 



BELSHAZZAR. 105 

Master and slave alike ! there is one house 

Thou canst nat make more desolate : thou canst 

not 
Pour ills on any of these guilty roofs, 
.So hateful as have burst on mine. Who comes ? 



NiTocRis, Imlah. 

NITOCRIS. 

My son ! my son ! 1 heard the cries — 1 saw 
The flames ; I rush'd through all the shrieking 

palace 
To seek him — and I found him not ; and sprang 
To find him, where I thought not, where 1 knew 

not. 
One moment do I plunge into the gloom 
Of some dark court, to shun the foe — the next, 
I bless the angry and destroying light, 
Because I think it may disclose the face, 
The beauteous face of mine Imperial Boy. 
I've pass'd by widows, and by frantic mothers, 
That howl and tear their hair o'er their dead 

children : 
I cannot find my child, even to perform 
That last sad duty of my love — to mourn him. 
I've cried aloud, and told them I'm their queen; 
They gaze on me, and mock me with their pity, 



106 BELSHAZZAR. 

Showing that queens can be as desolate 

As slaves : and sometimes have I paused and 

stoop'd 
O'er dying faces, with a hideous hope 
Of seeing my son 1 I dare not cry Belshazzar, 
Lest he should hear me, and come forth and meet 
The slaughtering sword. Ye Gods! his very 

beauty 
And majesty will mark him out for slaughter : 
And the tierce Persian, that in weary pride 
May scorn to flesh his sword on meaner heads, 
Will win himself an everlasting glory, 
By slaying th' unarmed, the succourless Belshaz- 

zar. 
Here's one — hast seen him ? Slave, I'll give 

thee gold, [kingdoms 

I'll give thee kingdoms ah! what gold or 

Hath the sad queen of captive Babylon 

To give ? but thou hast haply known the love 

Thai parents bear to those who have been a 

part [with theirs 

Of their own selves ; whose lives are twined 
So subtly, that 'twere worse than death to part 

them. 
Hast seen the king — my ^on— the pride of kings — ■ 
My peerless son ^ 

IMLAH. 

1 had a child this morn, 



BELSHAZZAR. 107 

Beautiful as the doe upon the mountains, 
Pure as the crystal of the brook she drinks ; 
And when they rent her from her father's heart, 

To death oh no ! — to deeper woe than death, 

The queen of Babylon swept proudly by, 
Nor stoop'd to waste her pity on the childless. 

IVITOCRIS. 

Oh ye just Gods ! but cruel in your justice ! 
And never met ye more ? 

IMLAFT. 

No more ! 

WITOCRIS. 

Great Heaven ! 
I own your equal hand : the bitter chalice 
That we have given to others' lips, our own 
Must to the dregs drink out. So, never more 
Shall I behold thee^ — not to wind thy corpse — 
To pour sweet ointments on thy clay cold limbs. 
Alas ! and what did Nabonassar's daughter 
In the dark streets alone ? when there were men 
To rally, arms to array — my voice, my look, 
The hereditary terror that is said 
To dwell on mine imperial brow, had pour'd 
Dismay and flight upon the conquering Mede. 
Semira.nis, for empire, cast away 
The woman, and went forth in brazen arms. 
I could not for my son ! 

My naked feet 



108 BELSHAZZAR. 

Bleed where I move ; and on my crownless head 
(For what have I to do with crowns?) beat cold 
The chilling elements; till but now I felt not 
My loose, and thin, and insufficient raiment. 
Well, there's enough to shroud the dead ; and 

thee 
To colder nakedness, my son ! my son ! 
The spoiler will have stripp'd 

IMLAH, 

God pardon me 
For taunting her distress ! Rest here, oh queen ! 
Under this low and wretched roof thou art safe ; 
The plunderer wars upon.the gilded palace. 
Not the base hovel There's a mother there 
As sad as thou, and sleep may be as merciful 
To thee as her. 

JVITOCRIS. 

Sleep! sleep! with Babylon 
In flames around me ; Nabonas^ir's realm, 
The city of earth's sovereigns rushing down, 
The pride of countless ages, and the glory. 
By generations of triumphant kings [son's, 

Rear'd up — my sire's, my husband's and my 
And mine own stately birth-place perishing : 
The summer gardens of my joy cut down ; 
The ivory chambers of roy luxury. 
Where 1 was wed, and bore my beauteous son, 



BELSHAZZAR. 109 

Howl'd through by strangers ! No — I'll on, and 

tind 
Death or my son, or both ! My glorious city ! 
My old ancestral throne ! thou'It still afford 
A burial fire. I've lived a queen, the daughter 
Of kings, the wife, the mother — and will die 
Q,ueen-like, with Babylon for my funeral pile ! 



Before the Temple. 

EENIJVA. 

Oh thou dread night ! what new and awful signs 
Crowd thy portentous hours, so calm in heav'n, 
With all thy stars and full-orb'd moon serene 
Sleeping on crystal and pellucid clouds ! 
How terrible on earth ! as 1 rushed down 
The vacant stair, nor heard a living sound, 
Save mine own bounding footstep, all at once 
Mcthougbt Euphrates' roiling waters sank 
Into the earth ; the gilded galleys rock'd. 
And plunged and settled in the sandy depths ; 
And the tall bridge upon its lengthening pier 
Seem'd to bestride a dark, unfathom'd gulf. 
Then, where r lue waters and the ivory decks 
Of royal vessels, and their "ilver prows. 
Reflected the bright lights of heav'n, they shone 
10 



no BELSHAZZAR. 

Upon the glancing armour, helms, and spears 
Of a vast army : then the stone paved walls 
Rang with the weight of chariots, and the gates 
Of brass fell down with ponderous clang : then 

sank 
O'er the vast city one sepulchral silence, 
As though the wondering conqueror scarce be- 
lieved 
His easy triumph. But ye revellers 
That lay at rest upon your festal garments, 
The pleasant weariness of wine and joy, 
And the sweet dreams of your scarce-ended 

pleasures, 
Still hanging o'er your silken couches ! ye 
Woke only, if ye woke indeed, to see 
The Median scimitar that, red with blood, 
Flash'd o'er you, or the blaze of fire that wrapt 
In sulphurous folds the chambers of your rest. 
Oh Lord of Hosts ! in thine avenging hour 
How dreadful art thou ! Pardon if I weep 
When all my grateful heart should beat with joy 
For my deliverance. 

Kalassan, Benina. 

kalassan. 
All is lost! Great Bel, 
Thus, thus dopt thou avenge thv broken rite ! 
Now, by thy thunders, 'tis the beauteous bride — 



BELSHAZZAR. Ill 

Thou givest her to me yet. 

BENIJVA. 

Miscreant ! what meanest thou ? 

KALASSAN. 

'Twas love before ; and now 'tis love and ven- 
geance ; 
And I will quaff the doubly-mantling cup, 
In all its richness. 

BENIJVA. 

Guilty man ! look round, 
Thou seest my God, the God of Gods, reveal'd 
In yon wide tires! Nor thou, nor one of those 
That walk the death doom'd streets of Babylon, 
Have even an hour to live. 

KALASSAir. 

Then I've no hour 
To waste. 'Tissaid the Indian widows mount 
In pride and joy their husbands' funeral pyres ; 
Thou, in thy deep devotion, shalt excel them, 
And wed thy bridegroom for the loftier glory 
Of dying by his side. 

BENIXA. 

Oh mercy ! 

KALASSAN. 

Mercy I 
Ask of the Babylonian maids and wives. 
If they find mercy ? 

BE NINA. 

Ah ! and I presumed 



112 BELSHAZZAR. 

To speak of pitying others! 

KALASSAN. 

Come What's here ? 

Kalassan, Benina, Adonijah. 

adonijah. 
With unwet foot I trod the river depths : 
It is the privilege of Israel's sons 
To walk through seas as on dry land. 

BENINA. 

Oh stranger ! 

That bear'st a Persian scimitar No stranger ! 

Is it his argel, with his beauteous brow ? [me ! — 
His eyes, his voice — his clasping arms around 
Mine own, ray brave, my noble Adonijah ! 
Too bounteous Heaven ! ' 

KALASSAN. 

Fond slave ! unclasp thine arms. 

ADONIJAH. 

■\Vhat — must I rob the Persian of his victim ? 
Oh ! not in vain this bright and welcome steel 
Glitter'd to court my grasp ! What ! the first 

foe 
Mv warrior arm hath met retreat before me ? 
ril follow thee to earth's remotest verge. 

BENINA, 

Oh ! I could shriek, and weary Heaven with 
cries 



BELSHAZZAR. 1I& 

For my sad self— for thee — for thee ! My lips 
Are parch'd to silence ; and my throat Come 

back ! [groans : — he calls not 

Their swords clash — some one falls — and 
Upon the God of Israel. — Ha I perchance 
He cannot cry ! All's dark.— Ah me ! how 

strong, 
How dreadful was the Heathen in his strength ! 
He's here ! — 1 dare not ask, which art thou ? 

which — 
Alas, prophetic spirit hast thou left me [tread 
To ask ? Oh Love ! thou used to know his 
'Mong thousands ! 

ADOJVIJAH. 

Sweet ! where art thou ? 

BENINA. 

On thy bosom. 

ADONIJAH. 

The Lord hath triumph'd by his servant's hands : 
He lies in death, blaspheming his own Gods. 

BENIN.4, 

Merciful ! I almost thank thee for the dread 
And danger of this night that closes thus 
In such overpowering joy ! 

ADONIJAH. 

Hast suffer'd nought 
But dread and danger ? 

BENINA. 

What ? 



114 BELSHAZZAR. 

ADONIJAH. 

Thou'st been where evil 
Riots uncheck'd, untamed ! 

BENIJVA. 

Oh Adonijah ! 
I have endured thy lip upon my cheek, [me. 
And I endure thine arms clasp'd fondly round 
And on thy bosom I recline, and look 
Upon thy face with eyes suffused with tears, 
But not of shame. What would'st thou more ? 

ADONIJAH. 

Nought, nought. 
Oh pardon that ray jealous fears misdoubted 
Thy pure, thy proud, thy holy love ! Come on ! 
Come to thy parents' home that wait for thee, 
And change the voiceless house of desolation 
To an abode of joy, as mute. 

Come ! come ! 
Beauteous as her that with her timbrel passM 
Along the Red Sea depths, and cast h*^r song 
Upon the free airs of the wilderness — 
The song of joy, of triumph, of deliverance ! 



The Streets of Babylon in Flames. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

I cannot fight nor fly : where'er 1 move. 
On shadowy battlement, or cloud of smoke* 



BELSHAZZAR. 115 

That dark unbodied hand waves to and fro, 
And marshalls me the way to death — to death 
That still eludes me. Every blazing wall 
Breaks out in those red characters of fate ; 
And when 1 raised my sword to war, methought 
That dark-stoled Prophet stood between, and 

seem'd 
Rebuking Heaven for its slow consummation 
Of his dire words. 

1 am alone : my slaves 
Fled at the first wild outcry ; and my women 
Closed all their doors against me — for they 

knew me 
Mark'd with the seal of destiny : no hand, 
Though I have sued for water, holds a cup 
To my parch'd lips ; no voice, as 1 pass on, 
Hath blessM me ; from the very festal garments, 
That glitter'd in my halls, they shake the dust : 
Ev'n the priests spurn'd me, as atrhorr'd of Hea- 
ven. 
Oh I but the fiery Mede doth well avenge me ! 
They 're strevvM beneath my feet — though not 
in worship ! [seize 

Oh death ! death ! death ! that art so swift to 
The conqueror on his triumph day, 'he bride 
Ere yet her wedding lamps have waned, the 

king [stool 

While all mankind are kneeling at his foot- 



116 BELSHAZZAR. 

Thou'rt only slow to him that knows himself 
Thy fated prey, that seeks within the tomb 
A dark retreat from wretchedness and shame. 
From shame ! — the heir of Nabonassar's glory ! 
From wretchedness ! — the Lord of Babylon — 
Of golden and luxurious Babylon ! 
Alas ! through burning Babylon ! the fallen, 
The city of lamentation and of slaughter! 
A fugitive and outcast, that can find, 
Of all his realm, not even a grave ! — so base, 
That even the conquering Mede disdains to slay 
him! 



Before the House of Imlah. 
Imlah, Adonijah, Benina, Naomi. * 

IMLAH. 

Naomi ! Naomi ! look forth — she's here ! 

NAOMI. 

I know she is — in dreams : through all the night 
I've seen her, gliding from the fountain side 
With the pure urn of water, or with lips 
Apart, and bashful voice, that faintly breath'd 
One of her country's songs ! I've seen her 

kneeUng 
In prayer, alas ! that ne'er was heard on high t 
And thou hast scared my vision's joys away — 
To see — all heav'n on fire, and the vast city 



BELSHAZZAR. 117 

imlah ! what mean those massy clouds of smoke, 

Those shrieks and clashings ? and— that 

youth and maid, 

Why stand they there ? we need no sad remem- 
brancers 

Of our deep desolation ! 

BENINA. 

Doth my mother 
With such cold salutation welcome home 
Her child ? 

NAOMI. 

No ! no ! ye can no more delude me ! 
Twice have I woken, and heard that voice, and 

stretchM 
My arms^ 

BENINA. 

But hast not folded to thy bosom, 
As thus, thy child, thy lost, thy loved Benina ! 

NAOMI. 

'Tis living flesh ! it is a breathing lip ! 

And the heart swells like Oh no ! — not like 

mine ! 
Oh ! thou twice born ! the sorrow and the joy 
That I endured to bring my beauteous babe 
Into the world were nought to this ! 

BENIN A. 

Dear mother, 

May I ne'er cost thee bitterer tears than these 

U 



118 BELSHAZZAR. 

IMLAH. 

My father's God, thou show'dst thyself of old, 
By smiting water from the stony rock, 
And raining manna on the desert sands ! 
Here is thy best — most gracious miracle ! [ness ; 
Making the childless heart to laugh with glad- 
The eyes that had forgot to weep o"erflow 
With tears delicious ! Thou hast raised the dead. 
And to the wid w given her shrouded child ! 
But what was that pale boy to her that stands 
So beautiful before us ? What was death 
To her dark trial? And she's here — and life 
Bounds m her bosom — the young doves that erst, 
Ere yet the cold airs soil'd their snowy plume?. 
Were offered in thy Temple not so pure I 

NAOMI. 

How cam'st thou hither ? 

BENINA. 

Ask of him that led me — 
Of him — that all but I seem to have forgotten. 

ADONIJAH. 

Love, I shall take a sweet revenge hereafter, 
Resuming to myself the boon that now 
T hey have no time to thank me for. — What's he, 
That rush, s where proud War disdains to spoil ? 
That tread was wont to movejn marble halls, 
To sounds of music Round his limbs, that shake 
And quiver, as with pain, he wraps his robes, 



BELSHAZZAR. 119 

Like one men wont to gaze on. Even despair 
On such a brow looks noble !-Hark ! he speaks — 

The above^ Belshazzar. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

'Tis come at last! the barbed arrow drinks 
My life-blood. Mid the base abode of slaves 
I seem to stand : not here — my fathers set 
Like suns in glory ! Til not perish here, 
And stifle like some vile, forgotten lamp ! 
Oh, dreadful God ! is't not enough ?— My state 
I equall'd with the Heavens — and wilt thou 

trample me 
Beneath these What are ye that crowd 

around me ? 
I have a dim remembrance of your forms 
And voices. Are ye not the slaves that stood 
This morn before me ? and 

TMLAH. 

Thou spurn'dst us from thee. 

BELSHAZZ VR. 

And ye'll revenge you on the clay-cold corpse. 

IMLAH. 

Fear not : our God, and this worWs cruel usage, 
Hath taught us early what kings learn too late. 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Ye know me, then — ye know the King of Ba- 
bylon — 



120 BELSHAZZAR. 

The King of dust and ashes? for what else 
Is now the beauteous city— earth's deHght? 
And what the King himself but — dust and ashes ? 

BENINA. 

He faints — support him, dearest Adonijah ! 

BKLSHAZZAR. 

Mine eyes are heavy, and a swoon, a sleep 
Swims o'er my head : — go, summon me the lutes. 
That usM to soothe me to my balmiest slumbers ; 
And bid the snowy-handed maidens fan 
The dull, hot air around me. '1 is not well — 
This bed — 'tis hard and damp. I gave command 
1 would not lie but on the softest plumes 
That the birds bear. Slaves ! hear ye not ? — 

'tis cold — 
'Tis piercing cold ! 

BENINA. 

Alas ! he's little used 
To feel the night winds on his naked brow : 
He's breathing still — spread o'er him that 

bright mantle ; 
A strange, sad use for robes of sovereignty. 

The above, Nitocris. 

NITOCRIS. 

Why should I pass street after street, through 

flames [stride 

That make the hardy conqueror shrin k ; and 



BELSHAZZAR. 121 

O'er heaps of dying, that look up and wonder 

To see a living and unwounded being ? 

Oh ! mercifully cruel, they do slay 

The child and mother with one blow ! the bride 

And bridegroom ! 1 alone am spar d, to die 

Remote from all — from him with whom Pve 

cherish'd 
A desperate hope to mingle my cold ashes ! 
' Tis all the daughter of great Nabonassar 
Hath now to ask ! — I'll sit me down and listen, 
And through that turbulent din of clattering steel, 
And cries of murder'd men, and smouldering 

houses, [Persian, 

And th' answering trumpets of the Mede and 
Summoning their bands to some new work of 

slaughter, 
Anon one universal cry of triumph 
Will burst ; and all the city, either host, 
In mute and breathless admiration, lie 
To hear the o'erpowering clamour that an- 
nounces 
Belshazzar slain !— and then I'll rise and rush 
To that dread place — they'll let me weep or die 
Upon his corpse ! — Old man, thou'st found thy 
child. 

IMLAH. 

I have — 1 have — and thine. Oh ! rise not thus, 
12 



122 BELSHAZZAR. 

In thy majestic joy, as though to mount 
Earth's throne again. Behold the King ! 

NITOCRIS. 

My son I 
On the cold earth — not there, hut on my bosom — 
Alas ! that's colder still. My beauteous boy, 
Look up and see — 

BELSHAZZAR. 

I can see nought — all 's darkness ! 

NITOCRIS. 

Too true : he'll die, and will not know me ! Son ! 
Thy mother speaks— thy only kindred flesh, 
That lov'd thee ere thou wert ; and, when 

thou'rt gone. 
Will love thee still the more ! 

BKi-SIIAZZAR. 

Have dying kings 
Lovers or kindred ? Hence ! disturb me not. 

NITOCRIS. 

Shall I disturb thee, crouching by thy side 
To die with thee ? Oh ! how he used to turn 
And nestle his young cheek in this full bosom, 
That now he shrinks from ! No ! it is the last 
Convulsive shudder of cold death My son. 
Wait — wait, and I will die with thee — notyet-^ 
Alas ! yet this was what I pray'd for — this — 
To kiss thy cold cheek, and inhale thy last — 
Thy dying breath. 



BELSHAZZAR. 123 

IMLAH. 

Behold ! behold, they rise ; 
Feebly they stand, by their united strength 
Supported. Hath yon kindling of the darkness, 
Yon blaze, that seems as if the earth and heaven 
Were mingled in one ghastly funeral pile, 
Arous'd them ? Lo, the flames, like a gorg'd 

serpent. 
That slept in glittering but scarce-moving folds. 
Now, having sprung a nobler prey, break out 
In tenfold rage. 

ADONIJAH, 

How like a lioness, 
Robb'd of her kingly brood, she glares! She wipes 
From her wan brow the gray discolour d locks, 
Where used to gleam Assyria's diadem ; 
And now and then her tenderest glance recurs 
To him that closer to her bleeding heart 
She clasps, as self-reproachful that aught earthly 
Distracts her from her one maternal care. 

IMLAH. 

More pale, and more intent, he looks abroad 
Into the ruin, as though he felt a pride 
Even in the splendour of the desolation ! 

BELSHAZZAR. 

The hand — the unbodied hand — it moves — look 

there I 
Look where it points I — my beautiful palace 



124 BELSHAZZAR. 

NITOCRIS. 

Look — 
The Temple of great Bel 

BELSHAZZAR. 

Our halls of joy ! 

NITOCRIS. 

Earth's pride and wonder! 

IMLAH. 

Ay, o'er both the fire 
Mounts like a conqueror : here, o'er spacious 

courts, 
And avenues of pillars, and long roofs, 
From which red streams of molten gold pour 

down, 
It spreads, till all, like those vast fabrics, seem 
Built of the rich clouds round the setting sun — 
All the wide heavens, one bright and shadowy 

palace ! 
But terrible here — th' Almighty's wrathful hand 
Every where manifest ! — There the Temple 

stands. 
Tower above tower, one pyramid of flame ; 
To which those kingly sepulchres by Nile 
Were but as hillocks to vast Caucasus ! 
Aloof, the wreck of Nimrod's impious tower 
Alone is dark ; and something hke a cloud. 
But gloomier, hovers o^er it. All is mute : 
Man's cries, and clashing steel, and braying 

trumpet — 



BELSHAZZAR. 125 

The only sound the rushing noise of fire ! 
Now, hark ! the universal crash — at once 
They fall — they sink 

ADONIJAH. 

And so do those that ruPd them • 
The Palace, and the Temple, and the race 
Of Nabonassar, are at once extinct ! 
Babylon and her kings are fallen for ever ! 

IMLAH. 

Without a cry, without a groan, behold them, 
Th' Imperial mother and earth-ruling son 
Stretch'd out in death ! Nor she without a gleam 
Of joy expiring with her cheek on his : 
Nor he unconscious that with him the pride 
And terror of the world is fallen — th' abode 
And throne of universal empire — now 
A plain of ashes round the tombless dead ! — 
Oh, God of hosts! Almighty, Everlasting ! 
God of our Fathers, thou alone art great ! 



13 



Note 1, page 16, line 3. 

Of JSTabonassar's sway. 

*' Nebuchadnessai — Nabonassar — Ce iiom est conlbndu 

par les Orientaux avec celui de Nabocadnassar, quoique 

les Grecs et les Latins les distinguent." — D^Herbeloty 

BibL Orientate. 

Note 2, page 20, line 10. 

Sace with the immaculate blood of yearling lambs, 

From Diodorus. 

Note 3, page 20, line 13. 
The God reposes, must the chosen Virgin^ 
See Herodotus, Clio. 
Note 4, page 22, line 16, 
Down to the red and pearly main. 
The Erythrean Sea, the Gulf of Persia, celebrated foi 
the pearls of Ormuz. 

Note 5, page 59, line 6. 
The golden statue stands of JSTabonassar. 
It does not appear certain what this statue was, which 
Nebuchadnezzar erected on the plain of Dura. I have 
taken the poetic licence of supposing it to be his own. 

Note 6, page 62, line 3. 
Thou, Zedckiahy didst desert thy God. 
Zedekiah, carried away at the last and final desolatioR 
of Jerusalem. 

Note 7, page 65, line 19. 

We drink Mylitta's breathing balm. 

The Assyrian Venus. — Herod, 

Note 8, page 100, line 11. 

*4n<?, through the deep and roaring Kaharmalcha. 

The royal canal which connected the waters Qf the Eu' . 

phrates with the artiftcial lake. 

W Ji^H 85 Y"^ 



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